The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel’s (ACTEC) Fellows share their expertise with professionals regarding trust administration and ongoing estate management. Learn more about topics regarding best business practices, communication with trustees and beneficiaries , and the impact of life changes such as retirement or divorce.
Life insurance may be a client’s most valuable asset. Understand how to identify a policy’s value and sell it for other estate needs instead of letting it lapse.
An overview of how Charitable LLCs can be used legitimately and possibly abused when pushed too far.
A discussion of charitable gift agreements and the necessary preparation for negotiating and drafting an agreement to protect the client.
Discussion is aimed at entertainment industry audience regarding issues related to their assets and rights, such as name/likeness rights and house trusts.
Estate planning lending techniques including a Graegin loan, GRAT, IDGT, and life insurance premium financing.
Estate planning experts discuss the gifting risks for moderate estates that want the flexibility to access assets in the future.
A discussion of The Uniform Law Commission’s new Electronic Wills Act from ACTEC Fellows that chaired the drafting committee.
An explanation of how Medicare benefits work, especially Medicare Parts A, B, D, disability requirements and the penalties associated with not enrolling on time.
Understanding the pitfalls and tax traps when donating from an IRA to a charity under the SECURE Act. An explanation of how Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and charitable giving has changed.
The new SECURE Act provides tailored treatment for special needs and disabled beneficiaries. Learn how the SECURE Act impacts these special beneficiary categories.
Conduit and accumulation trusts have changed under the SECURE Act. Learn how to mix and match under the new law.
Understanding the SECURE Act’s impact on common estate planning issues such as naming surviving spouses and adult children as beneficiaries.
Recommendations for trust and estate attorneys as to what to discuss with clients and next steps following the SECURE Act.
Experts discuss how to build autonomy in estate planning with next-generation beneficiaries through trust, purpose and opportunity grants.
Balancing independence of retirees, the SECURE Act and other 2020 estate planning hot topics are discussed in this special 100th ACTEC Trust and Estate Talk podcast.
ACTEC Fellows discuss the importance of creating positive experiences for beneficiaries in your estate plan.
What can you do when co-trustees disagree? How can you resolve trustee deadlocks? Learn more in this podcast.
Experts explain the characteristics of alternative investments, the risks associated with them, and how to identify the estate planning risks.
Learn about the guardianship policies of substituted judgment and best interest that guardians should consider when making decisions for a vulnerable person.
Powers of Attorney and Guardianship vary from state to state and internationally. Learn more about their portability and what’s recognized overseas.
Social Security and Medicare, the federal and state income taxation of Social Security, the ability of dependents to receive those benefits, self-employment tax and more in this podcast.
ACTEC Fellows explain the impact of judicial notice of facts and judicial notice of law surrounding evidence and litigation of trusts and estates.
The ins and outs of lay witness opinion testimony. A discussion of evidentiary issues surrounding lay people and Federal Rules of Evidence.
What to keep in mind when dealing with intrafamily business transactions, sales, and loans to avoid the scrutiny they receive from the IRS and the courts.
A detailed analysis of the advantages and considerations when using a Remainder Purchase Marital Trust, RPM Trust.
An explanation of the rigidity and flexibility of different business entities: C corporations, S corporations, partnerships and LLCs by tax experts.
What happens when the principal shareholder of an S corporation dies? Solutions are discussed by estate planning experts.
Are trusts considered marital property? A review of the Levitan v. Rosen and Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl cases offer considerations when drafting of marital property provisions in trust documents.
What is the Life Insurance Transfer for Value Rule and how has it been changed following the Tax Reform Act? An expert on the topic explains what you need to know.
A review of recent asset protection trust court cases – Wacker, Campbell, Cyr and Rensin – and offers the lessons learned from the rulings.
Understand how to minimize the risks and avoid fraudulent transfer rulings with creating self-settled spendthrift trusts.
An overview of the new Illinois Trust Code, which is based on the Uniform Trust Code, by a veteran member of the task force.
A review of ACTEC’s report provided to the US government on proposals to tax the deemed realization of gain on gratuitous transfers of appreciated property.
A deep dive into the benefits and concerns of Qualified Opportunity Funds and Opportunity Zones proposed regulations.
Understand the impacts of the SECURE Act and how it may affect non-spouse beneficiaries of retirement accounts.
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act had an enormous impact on existing trusts after divorce. Understand the impact and learn about ACTEC’s comments to the government and solutions to consider.
How do charitable pledges work for both the donor and charity? Learn the basics in this podcast from trust and estate experts.
An introduction to Individual Donor Advised Funds, the rules and advantages when compared to a private foundation.
Understand how Charitable Gift Annuities, CGA, can be structured with predictable and/or flexible payment streams.
A Charitable Gift Annuity is a simple and cost effective estate planning tool that benefits charities and donors during their lifetime. Learn more from an expert on the subject.
An overview of Charitable Lead Trusts including CLAT, CLUT, Grantor and Nongrantor Trusts from an estate expert.
Overview of Charitable Remainder Trusts, CRT, including CRAT, CRUT, Split-Interest Trusts and answers to frequently asked questions on the topic.
A primer on creating a charitable private foundation, federal tax rules, state laws and required corporate documents.
What you need to know regarding income tax charitable deductions for individuals following the 2017 Tax Cuts and Job Act from an estate planning expert.
Overview of the fundamentals of basic charitable giving including income tax, the estate and gift tax, and donating to a foreign charity.
Learn what lawyers and society can do to protect an older adult’s independence and reduce stereotypes – especially women – from elder financial abuse.
Elder financial abuse and who commits it, how we can help protect the autonomy of older adults and understand what the law can do to protect against such abuses.
Many women have a longer lifespan than men. How does the differing longevity impact financial management and potential vulnerabilities?
How do attorneys balance an older client’s independence while protecting their assets? Professor Radford offers a synopsis of her 3-part lecture that begins August 6.
California Supreme Court depublishes Special Needs Trust Case Scott v. McDonald following Amicus Brief by ACTEC.
A discussion of the Uniform Law Commission’s new Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act, UFIPA, created in July 2018.
Understand the ins-and-outs of third-party created irrevocable trust, examples and how they might vary between states.
How should a trust and estate attorney navigate the ethical and legal dilemma that occurs when a client asks for him or her to serve as a trustee?
Elder abuse by marrying to obtain wealth is on the rise. Understand the inadequate and new laws surrounding the issue.
An explanation of how Qualified Opportunity Funds and Opportunity Zones work and some of the intricacies surrounding them as of March 2019.
First, we want to tell everybody what we mean by consultant. We are really focusing on individuals who help on the soft side, the personal side.
A discussion of irrevocable trusts historically and present day, examples of recent cases, about what this means for planners, litigators, and trustees.
Recent tax reform legislation makes divorce a more expensive proposition.
A discussion of the impact of unintended consequences of adoption language in multi-generational and dynasty trusts.
A sneak peek into ACTEC’s Guide for Agents Acting Under Power of Attorney, which will be released later this year. Learn more about the duties and responsibilities in this podcast.
How does sustainable and responsible investing intersect with fiduciary duty? May a trustee consider environmental, social, and governance, ESG, factors?
Beth Shapiro Kaufman breaks down what wealth advisors need to know about the IRS and Treasury’s release of the 2018 Priority Guidance Plan.
Congress enacted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 which doubled the estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer tax exemption. Hear more about possible follow up legislation.
Discussion regarding Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations under Section 199A regarding 20% deduction for qualified business income.
ACTEC Fellow Hugh Magill’s final episode in the lecture series discusses increased life expectancy of grantors, their beneficiaries, and the implications to trusts and estates.
ACTEC Fellow Hugh Magill continues his lecture by discussing how trusts need to evolve to serve new family dynamics and issues in designing trusts for contemporary families.
A presentation of how changing demographics and multiple generations impact the current world of estate planning and trust management.
Estate planning and trust management across multigeneration families. How do lower marriage rate and non-traditional families effect financial planning, estate planning, financial services?
What is probate lending and why you should consider including a spendthrift clause in a will is discussed by ACTEC Fellow Professor David Horton.
The valuation of cryptocurrency, IRS guidance on tax planning, and how to prepare for an appraisal are discussed by John Varga of MPI Business Valuation and Advisory.
A discussion of tax considerations when forming a business. Learn more about S corp, C corp, LLC, LLP, and tax reform in this podcast.
The rights of children to receive property from intestate estates and how to pass property effectively to children is discussed by Judge Butts and ACTEC Fellow Jane Ditelberg.
An explanation the Uniform Law Commission Act covering guardianship, conservatorship, power of attorney, protective arrangements, and guardianship of minors.
What are the ethical legal considerations when representing a family business? Tips on how to avoid conflict and proper estate representation.
Franchisees, dealerships, distributorships, and particularly how third-party interests can impact estate planning for a family business.
Understanding the importance of estate planning documents, shareholder and buy-sell agreements in family and owner-controlled businesses.
Understanding the legal best practices for governance, operation, and management of closely-held and family businesses as discussed by expert.
Legal and practical challenges are evolving with the respect of funeral arrangements and disposition of human remains. Listen to issues that may be avoided with proper estate planning.
As the tradition of the close-knit family generation vanishes in America an epidemic of elder financial abuse is sweeping the country. ACTEC Fellows discuss this complicated topic in this podcast.
Digital will, electronic will, e-will… no matter what you call it, practitioners will be confronted with this new type of will in the very near future. Learn more in this podcast.
9100 Relief for missed or mishandled tax elections is broader, more frequently needed, and thus a lot more useful than many estate planners realize.
Powers of appointment keep long-term trusts evergreen, to be responsive to changing family, tax, and economic landscapes and to transform old assets.
Hear the ins and outs of issues that may arise with client’s IRA custodian from ACTEC Fellow Svetlana Beckman.
There are many tools available to planners to help them achieve client creditors’ protection objectives without the need for a self-settled asset protection trust. Hear ACTEC Fellows discuss asset-protection strategies such as Tenancy by the Entirety, asset protection trusts, discretionary trusts, and more.
Forefront on everyone’s mind is the new Tax Act. And so, certainly, we want to talk a little about that, because it’s important, and it’s a very hot topic.
Ron Aucutt, ACTEC Fellow from Tysons Corner, Virginia shared his perspective in October 2017 of Treasury’s withdrawal of Section 2704 proposed regulations on valuation for transfer tax purposes. There are many valuable insights in this podcast as a revised set of regulations may yet be reproposed as some point by Treasury.
Engagement Letters or Engagement Agreements are an invaluable tool for attorney’s setting the stage for the representation and managing a client’s expectations. ACTEC Fellows discuss the ins-and-outs of effective agreements.