PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
Legal Alert | DOL Opens ESG Door: What Does It Mean for Plan Fiduciaries?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
Corporate Fiduciaries Holding Cryptocurrency - Digital Planning Podcast
Legislation Discussion with PA State Senator Tom Killion
Discussion of PA’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
A conservator is an individual who manages the finances of an incapacitated individual, and a conservator cannot sell real estate owned by the incapacitated person without prior probate court approval. MCL 700.5423(3)....more
The government recently issued final rules on the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). The rules implement requirements for plans to conduct a comparative analysis of their nonquantitative treatment...more
Regularly, we read from news articles that an entity recently started its own business and entered into a business transaction or agreement with another entity. In response, we sometimes assume such an agreement or...more
Court of Chancery rejects Plaintiffs’ claims that directors engaged in “affirmative lawbreaking for profit”, finding alleged “trifling or technical” violations are ones “over which reasonable minds can differ.” Court...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) updated its 2021 cybersecurity guidance to clarify that it applies to all employee benefit plans. The DOL guidance confirms that plan fiduciaries, including health and welfare plan...more
Over the past year, numerous employers and their 401(k) plan fiduciaries have faced lawsuits regarding how forfeited employer contributions to their 401(k) plan are utilized. This wave of lawsuits began approximately a year...more
In its recent decision in Ingram v Kulynych Estate, the Court of Appeal for Ontario clarified the timeline for bringing equitable trust claims against estates, concluding that such claims are subject to the two-year...more
Pennsylvania guardianship rules and processes are subject to significant changes through the enactment of Act 61 of 2023 (Senate Bill 506; PN 843). This legislation, which updates the legal framework surrounding...more
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical during oral arguments in which conservative states and Texas-based energy interests sought to reverse a district judge’s order upholding an environmental,...more
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and its implementing regulations and guidance (MHPAEA) prohibit health insurance policies and group health plans that cover mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD)...more
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued 3 documents outlining guidance on cybersecurity practices for benefits plans, which we discussed in a blog post at the time. The DOL recently issued revised versions of the...more
by Becky Achten New guidance from the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) affirms that both sides—retirement plans and welfare plans—must take steps to secure participant data from cybercrime. In 2021 the...more
When a loved one dies, the last thing you want to deal with is a lawsuit, or have your heirs inherit a lawsuit. After the death of a maternal or paternal figure that keeps the family together, tensions flare between siblings...more
Welcome to the inaugural issue of Insurance Insights, a gathering of notable legal developments and trends relevant to the insurance industry. In this issue, the California Supreme Court covers COVID-19 claims, Georgia...more
July 25 was not a good week for the Department of Labor (“DOL”) in Texas. On July 25, the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, in a civil action filed by the Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice, placed a...more
Trade association boards, like the boards of other private companies, often consist of stakeholders who are personally and professionally invested in the organization. Board members typically also possess significant business...more
Investment and administrative committees for employer-sponsored retirement plans have long been the gold standard for a company to carry out its fiduciary obligations to plan participants as required by the Employee...more
Last week, former Wells Fargo employees filed a class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo and its health plan fiduciaries alleging that Wells Fargo’s self-funded health plan violated ERISA by paying its pharmacy benefits...more
In July 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed the Pennsylvania Directed Trust Act, Senate Bill 1231 (now part of Act No. 64 of 2024, sponsored by Senator Lisa Baker), into law, making Pennsylvania the 20th state to...more
Under recently finalized federal regulations (commonly referred to as the “Fiduciary Rule”) that were scheduled to become effective on September 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor intended to expand the fiduciary...more
On behalf of the ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation team, we hope your Summer is off to a great start. In the time of family vacations and out-of-office replies, the pace of employee benefits changes—both large and small—remains...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued final rules (the “Final Rules”) which expanded what it means to provide fiduciary “investment advice” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code (discussed here). The Final Rules...more
Once you have taken the essential step in formulating your estate plan, you must name an executor of your Will. Whom should you designate for this significant role, and what is expected of them?...more
David F. Johnson presented his speech on “Fiduciaryize Your Case” to the State Bar of Texas’s Advanced Civil Trial Course in Frisco, Texas, on July 11, 2024. This presentation covered what a fiduciary relationship means, the...more
In In re Estate of Maun, a brother sued his sister’s estate for her performance as executrix of their mother’s estate since the late 1980s. No. 13-22-00576-CV, 2024 Tex. App. LEXIS 52 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi January 4,...more