Do It Now: Name a Guardian for Your Minor Child(ren)

April 13, 2017

We know it’s hard. Thinking about someone else raising your children stops us all in our tracks. It feels crushing and too horrific to consider. But you must. If you don’t, a stranger will determine who raises your children if something happens to you – your child’s guardian could be a relative you despise or even a stranger you’ve never met. Continue reading

The Real Life Perils of Online and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Estate Planning

With the number of online and do-it-yourself (DIY) legal providers continuing to grow and advertise heavily, you may be wondering if you could do your estate planning with the help of these forms. The advertising is seductive. Ads say, “attorneys use similar forms,” “the cost is significantly less than hiring an attorney,” and “many of these websites and kits are created by attorneys.” Continue reading

Yet Another State Joins in Passing Asset Protection Trust Law

Effective in early 2017, Michigan will be the 17th state to enact self-settled spendthrift trust legislation. This new law will allow for the creation of trusts in Michigan under which the settlor (trust-creator/ grantor/trustmaker) can name himself or herself, along with one or more other beneficiaries, as a discretionary beneficiary of the trust, and as such, be eligible to receive distributions from the trust. Continue reading

Knowing the Rules, and Knowing They Won’t Change, Can be Helpful

The sixteen states that have passed asset protection trust law often compete with one another for business, each trying to woo individuals to use a trust company in that state to protect assets. An often-touted advantage of using one state over the others is that the “superior” state has the shorter statute of limitations Continue reading

Transfers to Cook Islands Trust Not Voidable

In a previous blog, we discussed the “Bellinger” case and how the court concluded that the debtor’s actions were defensible. To briefly recap the facts, this was the matter in which Mr. Bellinger had made transfers of about $1.7 million to a Cook Islands trust after he knew the primary obligors (on a promissory note that he had personally guaranteed) were defaulting. Continue reading

Contempt of Court Issue Raised in Asset Protection Trust Case

A case in the Southern District of Florida involved an individual who had guaranteed to a bank the repayment of about $5 million in debt obligations. The guarantor learned that the primary obligors on the debt were defaulting on the loan. Afterwards, the guarantor created, and transferred about $1.7 million in various securities and cash assets to, a Cook Islands trust. Continue reading

5 Mistakes Made by Successor Trustees (and How to Prevent Them)

When establishing a trust in Denver, you need to give serious thought to choosing your successor trustee—the person who will administer your trust once you’re no longer able to do so. Continue reading

Proposed Treasury Regulations Will Limit Discounting

Bottom Line: If you like jumping right to the punchline, this post serves as an alert that in order to save gift and/or estate taxes to which you may otherwise become subject, making some gifts over the next four months would be highly recommended. For details, please read on….. Continue reading

The Tragic Loss of Star Trek’s Anton Yelchin: Lessons for Estate and Legacy Planning

On June 19, 2016, when successful actor Anton Yelchin (Chekov in the recent Star Trek movies) failed to show for rehearsal, his friends became worried and drove to his house. Sadly, they found Yelchin pinned between his security fence, brick mailbox, and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Continue reading