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Laws change, but in many respects, the laws related to estate planning and taxation can change slowly, or not much at all.  Tax exemptions and rates change, of course, but the laws themselves - not so much.  One major deviation from this maxim was the SECURE Act, which came as a bit of a surprise at the end of 2019.  It was followed by SECURE 2.0, proposed regulations, and then (finally!) final regulations, all of which combine to create a new landscape for clients who want to leave their retirement plans or IRAs in trust.  For many clients, retirement assets comprise the bulk of their net worth and preserving them is a common goal.  Hence, knowing how to use trusts for these assets is an important tool for estate planners.

It comes as a surprise to many people that federal law permits civilians to own machine guns, suppressors, and similar items. They can be owned by individuals, business entities such as LLC's and nonprofit corporations, and by trusts. Over the last fifteen years or so, the NFA trust has become the preferred method of ownership. This presentation will discuss the legalities of owning NFA firearms, the process of forming an NFA trust, the operation of the trust, and the legal pitfalls in drafting NFA trusts.