By Dawn M. Hall Cauthen Dawn M. Hall Cauthen is senior counsel at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves &Savitch LLP in Carlsbad, California, where she focuses her practice on the areas of estate planning, trust administration, probate, estate tax and... Read More
A grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) is an estate planning technique used to transfer wealth to the next generation with little or no gift tax consequence. Essentially, the Grantor transfers an asset that is likely to experience significant appreciation... Read More
By Peter K. Kelly | Leonore Abels in her Will provided that her residuary pass in trust for her husband Joel Abels and, in the alternative should he predecease her, all of her property be sold, except her house, and held by the trustee to maintain... Read More
Southpac is a trust company that operates in several Non-U.S. jurisdictions, including the Cook Islands and Nevis (both have aggressive asset protection laws that seek to attract international asset protection trusts). Most individuals seeking non-U.S... Read More
By Adam J. Gottlieb I. Introduction. Even under normal circumstances, at some point after an irrevocable trust is created and funded, it may no longer serve the purpose for which it was originally intended. But what options are available to the grantor... Read More
The importance of life insurance for parents with young children cannot be overstated. However, insurance is just one part of the story. To ensure your child's financial security, you need to properly plan for how the proceeds will be distributed... Read More
A recent Georgia Court of Appeals case highlights several issues with respect to administering trusts. In McPherson v. McPherson , (2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 8, January 11, 2011) , the Georgia Court of Appeals considered a case in which a father established... Read More
I saw "The Descendants" this weekend, a new film starring George Clooney. The film has an estate planning subplot that masterfully portrays how difficult it can be to satisfy all family members when an estate planning pie must be divided... Read More
By Genevieve M. Moore , Morrison & Foerster LLP As the year winds down, many of our clients are taking advantage of the unprecedented opportunity to make gifts of up to $5,120,000, per donor, free of any federal gift tax. Since the federal generation... Read More
A trust protector is a person or group of people (not the settlor, beneficiary, or trustee) who are appointed to exercise one or more powers affecting a trust and the interest of the beneficiaries. The concept of a trust protector is to protect beneficiaries... Read More
By John G. Farinacci, Esq. In a rather unique ceremony at the Nassau County Surrogate’s Court on December 4, 2013, Surrogate Edward W. McCarty, III ordered and presided over the physical return of an ancient Assyrian artifact from the possession... Read More
In this Commentary, Elaine Gagliardi discusses proposed regulations specifying the amount to be included in the gross estate when the decedent at death retains an income, annuity or unitrust interest in a trust or the right to use a personal residence... Read More
An irrevocable and unamendable trust can be revoked or amended during the life of the grantor under certain limited circumstances. New York's Estate Powers and Trust Law (EPTL) provides in Section 7-1.9 that upon the written acknowledged consents... Read More
Effective July 1, 2012, Virginia will be the 13 state to allow self-settled Asset Protection Trusts. Self-settled Trusts allow an individual to transfer assets to a Trust, protect the transferred assets from lawsuit and the transferor's creditors... Read More