John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Next Generation Legacy Management - The Essence of Developing, Managing and Implementing a Plan for Future Generations
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Charitable Bequests With Guest Stephanie Hood
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'
Despite best intentions, it is impossible to entirely negate the risk of conflict arising from a family trust. By their nature, trusts tend to span several decades and "futureproofing" them against societal changes,...more
An incident of the trustee’s duty to be generally prudent, to account (or report) to beneficiaries, and to refrain from breaches of the duty of undivided loyalty, such as engaging in unauthorized self-dealing, is the...more
Irrevocable trusts can be effective for estate planning, but they can also create problems. This blog post will draw lessons from the case of Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire owner of Fox News and News Corporation, who is...more
There are numerous laws and regulatory issues to take into account when considering a state in which to form a Private Trust Company (PTC), including requirements around annual reporting, residency of personnel and capital...more
As the ball drops in Times Square on December 31, 2024, many of the tax breaks established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 will disappear. While the TCJA made some permanent tax cuts, a number of tax cuts and...more
Never content to be left out of the competition for wealth management of ultra-high-net-worth families from Singapore and Dubai, Hong Kong recently enacted a new tax concession regime (Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax...more
In the recent case of Schaddelee as Cotrustee of Ronald Schaddelee Irrevocable Trust v. Deleon as Cotrustee of Ronald Schaddelee Irrevocable Trust, 2023 WL 4143639 (Mich Ct App Jun 22, 2023) (unpublished), the Michigan Court...more
Most of you know by now that I grew up in the Panama Canal Zone which no longer exists as of 1999. In that respect, the transition left me as a man without a country. My father (of blessed memory) when referring to kids...more
A few years ago, I spent a memorable weekend going back and forth between my office and a client’s hospital room. I spent hours sitting at hospital cafeteria tables or by my client’s bedside while he waited for an operation,...more
With its corporate laws based upon those of the UK, Malta has incorporated laws and principles into its own legislation, providing comfort and security to the commercial and business community. The most common form of...more
David F. Johnson presented “Trust Issues In Divorce Proceedings” on November 17, 2021. This presentation covered trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void...more
Welcome to the sixth edition of our Private Client Bulletin, bringing you the latest private client and trust news and insights from Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, BVI and Asia. This edition features articles on offshore...more
Below is a brief glance of what you'll find in the January/February 2021 issue of The Estate Planner. - Can a charitable trust replicate a stretch IRA? - Power up your trust with Crummey powers - Net gift technique...more
In re Estate of Bryant, a couple set up three trusts for their three children, Bill, Leslie, and Jane. No. 07-18-00429-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 2131 (Tex. App.—Amarillo March 11, 2020, no pet. history). After the couple had...more
Family-owned businesses are often owned and controlled by family trusts. Trusts are used by families for estate planning, tax planning and asset protection. Family-owned government contractors with trust ownership structures...more
If you are getting divorced, you may find that your marital assets include interests in one or more trusts. It could be that you and your spouse established the trusts during your lifetime, or perhaps a family member created...more
Please join us this November for McDermott Will & Emery’s Private Client West Coast Forum. At this complimentary program, experienced McDermott partners will lead discussions on a broad range of topics pertinent to ultra-high...more
What is a reasonable trustee’s fee in California for a family member who acts as trustee? We see a high degree of conflict over this issue even when the amount of the claimed fee is small compared to value of the trust...more
As discussed in a previous article, due to higher estate tax exemption, certain trusts previously established for purposes of avoiding estate taxes under the estate plan of a predeceased spouse may no longer be necessary in...more