This week, I have decided to take a break from our normal more technical writing and discuss some recent celebrity estate planning blunders that have come to light. Not only are these cases interesting and entertaining, but they also can provide valuable lessons when it comes to estate planning. In a previous article, I wrote…
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Are assets transferred by your parents into a trust for your benefit subject to your tax liabilities? In general, no, provided the trust has the proper spendthrift language. Longstanding common law has recognized spendthrift clauses in trusts which restrain voluntary alienation of trust assets, thereby preventing a beneficiary’s creditors from reaching trust assets to satisfy…
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Conservation easements have been in the news a lot recently. On Wednesday, March 27, 2019, the Senate Finance Committee launch a bipartisan investigation into the potential abuses involving syndicated conservation easement transactions. The Senate investigation is comes on the heels of an enforcement action initiated by the Department of Justice against EcoVest Capital, LLC (“EcoVest”),…
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The Ninth Circuit recently upheld a 2016 Tax Court case that the charitable deduction for estate taxes was limited to the post-death value of the property actually received by the charity rather than the value of such property that was included in the decedent’s gross estate. Following its decision in Ahmanson Foundation v. U.S., 674…
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The Mississippi House of Representatives is currently considering a pair of bills that could have a major impact on trust and estates in Mississippi. The bills, H.B. 1375 and H.B. 1425, are the product of a study committee formed by the Secretary of State and touch on a broad range of subjects, including non-probate transfers, transfer…
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Whenever I attend a large conference, I try to take some time afterwards to consider the most important takeaways. Having just returned from the 53rd Annual Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning which was held from January 14-19, 2019, I spent the last week reviewing the conference materials and my notes. From this, I have compiled…
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