John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 23: Naming Guardians for Minor Children
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 6 - Reshaping Your Legacy: Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
A “qualified disclaimer” is a tax-effective way to refuse a transfer of property that would otherwise occur on someone’s death. From time to time, retirement plan administrators may be contacted by a beneficiary who wants a...more
On April 15, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a Notice of Proposed Information Request (the “Notice”), outlining its plan to create the Retirement Savings Lost and Found required by SECURE Act 2.0. Although...more
A participant in a 401(k), 403(b), or other account-style retirement plan may name a beneficiary to receive his or her account balance after the participant’s death. A recent case, Moore v. NCR Corp. Plan Admin. Comm. (USDC...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) issued final electronic disclosure rules for retirement plans on May 27, 2020 (2020 Safe Harbor). We are already fielding questions about these new rules and have provided answers here to some of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Administrators of ERISA plans frequently receive requests from participants, beneficiaries, and their representatives for plan-related documents. A recent decision from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth...more
The Department of Labor recently issued a proposed rule that allows certain retirement plan disclosures to be posted online, rather than requiring such disclosures to be printed and mailed. The Department of Labor anticipates...more
It’s Week #6, and we have turned the corner in our Top 10 Best Practices in Administering Benefit Claims. In case you missed any (or all) of the first five best practices, links to each of them appear below. This week we...more
At long last, the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued an update to its safe harbor rules governing electronic distributions of retirement plan disclosures. When finalized and adopted, the new safe harbor rules will update...more
On October 23, 2019, the Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed rule that, if finalized in its current form, would make it easier for retirement plan administrators to use electronic media to furnish information to...more
Our blog series on best practices in administering benefit claims has thus far stressed the importance of knowing and reading the plan document and summary plan description. This week, we take a look at a plan term that has...more
A federal district court in Ohio recently attempted to shed some light on when internal communications between an ERISA plan administrator and its in-house counsel are discoverable and when they are protected by the...more
Earlier this year, the Department of Labor issued an information letter explaining ERISA’s authorized representative requirement. Below are some of the takeaways employers may want to consider....more
Three best practices for plan administration that often fall by the wayside include: (1) regularly reminding participants to review and update their beneficiary designations; (2) checking recordkeeping practices to avoid loss...more
Outside of death, beneficiary provisions and designations under qualified plans (see ERISA Section 3(8)) tend to receive little attention. Unfortunately, death may spotlight or uncover less desirable provisions and...more
Over the last decade, courts around the country have been asked to decide whether ERISA preempts state slayer statutes – state laws that prohibit a murderer from collecting benefits as the beneficiary of the victim’s estate...more
As we head into the thick of summer, all eyes are on President Trump's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy and the impact the new Justice will have on shaping the law for...more
• In Laborers' Pension Fund v. Miscevic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the Illinois slayer statute is one state statute that is not pre-empted by ERISA. A slayer statute is a law that prevents an...more
We turn once again to the sad and difficult task that plan administrators face when distributing the benefits of a participant who has been murdered by his or her designated beneficiary. Sad for obvious reasons. Difficult...more
Plaintiff Kristopher Towles, the son of a deceased participant of a life insurance plan, challenged the plan’s decision to pay the life insurance proceeds to the deceased’s husband, contending that the beneficiary form...more
Recently, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit released an opinion which highlights the importance of ensuring ERISA plan documents grant plan administrators the discretion to construe and interpret the...more