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Events

Kaestner Case and State Income Taxation of Trusts

On June 21st, the Supreme Court of the United States entered its opinion in North Carolina v. Kaestner, 588 US (2019). The Kaestner case represents an extremely important decision for all estate planners, trust officers, trustees, and advisers. Although the holding is a narrow one, it is vitally important.

Christian Estate Planning

Each component of a client’s estate and financial plan can embody their Christian values, beliefs, and lifestyle. Perhaps the simplest way to integrate Christian values into an estate plan might be for a client to add to his or her will a bequest to an organization that has been instrumental or inspirational in his or her life, or which embodies the values he or she holds dear. But there is so much more.

Practitioners can guide clients to write a letter of final instructions, or an “ethical will,” to their heirs. This can explain to the heirs the client’s connection with the Church, and how the Christian concept of stewardship over assets is carried out by making a bequest in your will to complement philanthropy during a lifetime. Each aspect of your client’s financial, retirement, insurance, death (dispositive scheme), and post-death (e.g., trusts for heirs) planning and documentation can be imbued, to the extent the client wishes, with Christian values.

Current Developments, New Ideas, and More

This 90 minute program will review new cases, rulings, news articles and more from the first four months of 2019.

Included in the discussion will be an analysis of the Sanders tax bill which might serve as a blueprint for a Democratic tax proposal should there be a change in administrations in Washington in 2020 and what practitioners should advise clients to do now. Several recent malpractice cases will be reviewed with an emphasis on practical steps practitioners in all disciplines, but especially estate planning attorneys, should take now to modify how they practice in light of the issues and risks of those cases (regardless of how they are resolved). New data on elder financial abuse and steps to help clients will be discussed. Cases and rulings on a wide array of topics including decanting, GST planning, charitable deductions and much more will be discussed.

For more information, visit RetirementBenefitsPlanning