DEMYSTIFYING TRUSTS

In light of the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill Act understanding what trusts to use in doing your estate planning just became more important than ever. Should I use two revocable trusts for husband and wife or just one joint revocable trust or should I consider gifting assets to an irrevocable gifting trust or be more concerned about keeping the assets in light of the increased exemption and focus on the step up in cost basis.  Since the exemptions appear to be staying high at least for am I less worried about federal estate taxes but more concerned about protecting assets from the nursing home reducing MA estate tax at the same time? Finally, how do these trusts operate from an income tax perspective, are they Grantor trusts and if so, how to the grantor trust rules operate, are there gift tax concerns, and how to the marital share, QTIP shares and by pass shares operate in these trusts to shelter the assts from estate taxes? Join us for a walk thru of all the code sections associated with these issues and learn how best to advise your client in this new estate tax environment.

Topics for discussion:

• Understanding the different types of trusts
  • Revocable for husband and wife. Joint Revocable trusts for a married couple
  • Irrevocable Gifting type trusts and life insurance trusts
  • Irrevocable Medicaid trust for nursing home protection
  • Special needs trust
  • Pooled trusts
• How are the trusts different and how does that affect tax reporting?
  • Understanding if the transfers to the trusts are completed gifts or incomplete gifts and the need for a 706
  • Understanding the Grantor trust rules for each type of trust
  • Understanding the Section 1014 and the step up in basis rules and its importance
  • Understanding the limited powers of appointment and their importance
  • Understanding the QTIP rules and how the marital share and the bypass share work to shelter estate taxes
• What triggers the need for tax reporting?
  • Income
  • Transactions
  • Regulation
• Are there claw back periods to be aware of?
• Income distribution requirements
• Liability protection for the trustees and beneficiaries
  • Protection for future divorces
  • Generation skipping tax benefits of Dynasty type trusts

Registration Form: Fall 2025 CPE Registration Form