Labor & Employment Law, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning

Group Health Plan Can Enforce Reimbursement Rights Against Trustee

by Lori Oliphant | Winstead PC on 5/24/2013

On the heels of the United States Supreme Court’s recent holding in U.S. Airways v. McCutchen, where the Court held that a group health plan’s reimbursement rights are not automatically subject to equitable defenses, it...more

Ontario Budget 2013 – More Pension Reform to Come

by Lesha Van Der Bij | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/3/2013

In today’s budget, the Ontario government announced that it is continuing with its pension reform agenda, but it is not all “old news”. Perhaps of most interest to employers and plan administrators will be the government’s...more

Takeover Code Amendments Extend the Rights of Pension Scheme Trustees

by Iain Wright | Morgan Lewis on 4/30/2013

Amendments include new requirements regarding offerors' intentions, documents provided to trustees, trustees' opinions on offers, and publication of agreements between offerors and trustees....more

Illinois Supreme Court to Hear Five Civil Cases In May

by Kirk Jenkins | Sedgwick LLP on 4/26/2013

On Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court announced its oral argument calendar for the May term, and it includes arguments in five civil cases. The cases, with the questions presented in each, are...more

Carrigan Case: Supreme Court of Canada Dismisses Leave to Appeal

by Douglas Rienzo | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 3/29/2013

This morning, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the application for leave to appeal in Carrigan v. Carrigan Estate. As a result, the Ontario Court of Appeal’s new interpretation of the priority scheme for the payment of...more

ERISA Does Not Preempt State Court Order Requiring Beneficiary to Renounce Right to Employee’s Plan Benefits, Fourth Circuit Rules

by Katherine Lange | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC on 3/20/2013

The scenario is not difficult to imagine: An employee designates her spouse as the primary beneficiary under her employer’s life insurance and retirement benefit plans. Years later, the couple divorces, and in the marital...more

DOL Releases Informal Guidance Addressing Fiduciary Responsibilities With Respect to Target Date Funds

by Joseph S. Adams, Anne S. Becker, Ashley McCarthy, Karen Simonsen | McDermott Will & Emery on 3/18/2013

Recent U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance underscores the need for plan fiduciaries to rigorously examine and monitor target date fund (TDFs), and potentially explore the use of custom or non-proprietary TDFs....more

B.C.’s New Family Law Act and Division of Pension Rules Now in Force

by Lawson Lundell LLP on 3/18/2013

The new Family Law Act (“FLA”) came into force today, March 18, 2013. It replaces and repeals the Family Relations Act (“FRA”). The FLA carries forward the basic structure established under the FRA, with some fine tuning to...more

Second Circuit: Deferential Standard Applies Without Notice To Participants & Reimbursement Claims Are Equitable Relief

by Russell Hirschhorn | Proskauer - ERISA Practice Center on 3/15/2013

Yesterday, the Second Circuit ruled on two important issues of note for ERISA plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries. In Thurber v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., 2013 WL 950704 (2d Cir. Mar. 13, 2013), the Court ruled that...more

Long Time Separation Does Not Equal Divorce

by Angela Bohmann | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Employee... on 3/14/2013

Most employers know that a married participant in a qualified retirement plan must name a spouse as beneficiary for at least a portion of the benefit unless the spouse signs a notarized written consent or the spouse cannot be...more

Target Date Retirement Funds – Tips For Plan Fiduciaries

by Angela Bohmann | Leonard, Street and Deinard - Employee... on 3/7/2013

Many plan sponsors have selected so-called “target date” funds as the default investment under the plan sponsor’s 401(k) or other qualified plan. A target date fund is one that includes investments in different asset classes...more

Will the CFPB Take on the Regulation of Retirement Savings Plans?

by Daniel A. Nathan | Morrison & Foerster LLP on 2/26/2013

According to a recent Bloomberg report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering whether it should take a role in helping Americans manage their retirement savings. CFPB Director Richard Cordray told a...more

Legal Solutions, March 2013

by Paul Sullivan on 2/24/2013

Legal Solutions is the quarterly newsletter of Sullivans Law LLP Solicitors based in Belfast, Northern Ireland - UK. Included in the March 2013 edition: + confidentiality agreements + county courts jurisdiction...more

Understanding the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

by W. King Copler | Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, P.C. on 2/14/2013

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law on January 2, 2013. The Act permanently extends many of the Bush-era tax cuts, while increasing tax rates for higher income taxpayers. Below is a brief summary of...more

Indalex: What Are the Pension Implications?

by Lesha Van Der Bij | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 2/13/2013

On February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released its much anticipated decision in Sun Indalex Finance, LLC v. United Steelworkers, a case which pitted the claims of pensioners against those of secured creditors in...more

New Concerns for Bondholders, Lenders and Other Creditors Following SCC’s Indalex Decision

by Richard Orzy, Raj Sahni, Kevin Zych | Bennett Jones LLP on 2/13/2013

On February 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its much-awaited decision in the Indalex case. While the central issue in Indalex was the priority of wind-up deficiencies in defined benefit pension plans...more

New Rules Coming into Effect Affect Retirement Plans Entering into Swaps

by King & Spalding on 2/5/2013

New rules affecting ERISA-covered retirement plans entering into swap transactions will come into effect in May 2013. These rules, known as the “Business Conduct Standards,” implement certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank...more

Supreme Court of Canada Affirms Federal Paramountcy in Insolvency but Leaves Uncertainty for the Credit Community Regarding...

by Anthony Devir, Edward Sellers | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 2/1/2013

The Supreme Court of Canada released its highly anticipated decision in Indalex Limited (Re) this morning. The ruling stemmed from an appeal of an Ontario Court of Appeal decision that had created commercial uncertainty...more

IRS Releases Updated Retirement Plan Correction Procedures

by Harry Atlas, Jessica Kuester, Lisa Tavares | Venable LLP on 1/23/2013

The IRS recently released the long-awaited updated version of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), Revenue Procedure 2013-12. EPCRS allows the sponsor of a tax-deferred retirement plan to voluntarily...more

Roth Conversion Opportunities Expand, But Practical Questions Remain

by Jeff Belfiglio | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 1/21/2013

The recent “fiscal cliff” tax law, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (ATRA), includes a provision effective Jan. 1, 2013 that greatly expands the ability of plan participants to convert pre-tax plan accounts to after-tax Roth...more

Estate Planning After the Fiscal Cliff Deal

by Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP on 1/17/2013

Now that a deal averting the fiscal cliff has finally been reached, many of the tax and planning issues that have been mired in uncertainty for the past two years (and even longer in some cases) may be resolved. Numerous tax...more

IRS Releases Revised Retirement Plan Correction Program Including Important New Guidance For 403(b) Plans

by David Rosner, C. John Wentzell, Jr. | Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 1/16/2013

On December 31, 2012, as Times Square in New York was getting ready to drop the crystal ball, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) dropped long-awaited guidance regarding retirement plan corrections in the form of Revenue...more

How Will the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 Affect You - Details of Legislation passed by Congress to Avoid Fiscal Cliff

by Robert Howell, Westray Veasey | Poyner Spruill LLP on 1/15/2013

On January 2, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, H.R. 8 (ATRA), preserving many of the key tax provisions passed during the George W. Bush presidency, which were scheduled to...more

Illinois Supreme Court Announces Anticipated Filing Dates for January and February

by Kirk Jenkins | Sedgwick LLP on 1/15/2013

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced its anticipated filing dates for January and February. Opinions are expected on Friday, January 25; Thursday, February 7; and Friday, February 22. Decisions on petitions for rehearing...more

American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 Approved by Congress and Signed by the President

by Dechert LLP on 1/11/2013

Summary - President Obama on January 2, 2013 signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “Act”). The Act extends certain tax rates, tax credits, and other provisions previously enacted by other tax...more

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Labor & Employment Law › Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning