The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
The Secret Child
Estate Planning 101: The Five Most Important Clauses for Wills and Trusts
Ruder Ware's Elder Law Team Recognizes National Special Needs Law Month - Part 2
Everything You Need to Know About Beneficiary Designations
The Wonder Years - Rediscovering the Magic of Split Dollar Life Insurance
A plan administrator did not abuse its discretion in concluding that a former employee’s surviving spouse was not entitled to life insurance benefits under an employee benefit plan. In Hayes v. Prudential Insurance Company of...more
I hate death, I hate talking about death, the whole point of living is not dying. Yet, when it comes to setting things rights, I’ve done the best I can in terms of drafting a will and keep beneficiary forms up to date....more
Ruder Ware’s Trusts & Estates blog has featured several posts (for example, Call to Action: Review Your Estate Plan in Light of the SECURE Act and Why SECURE Act Matters to You) on the SECURE Act, a federal law effective...more
Plaintiff Doug Heckman participated in Nike's employee welfare benefit plan (the "Plan"), which was funded by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Co. ("UHC"), and included healthcare benefits. Mr. Heckman's wife was covered under the...more
New rules for retirement accounts under the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act and the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act, may have a dramatic impact on the optimal...more
On December 20, 2019 the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020” became law. As part of the Act and in part to pay for the over 1.7 trillion in spending that the Act contemplates, Section “O” sets forth the Setting...more
Temporary Relief from Physical Presence Requirements for Spousal Consent - Under the Internal Revenue Code (Code), certain elections under retirement plans require the consent of a participant’s spouse....more
Due to widespread court closures as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it may be difficult for participants or their attorneys to obtain a certified copy of a domestic relations order that many retirement plans...more
Under the SECURE act, which was passed by Congress just before Christmas, the new starting age to take Required Minimum Distributions (“RMD’s”) from tax-deferred retirement accounts (exs. an IRA, a 401(k), hereinafter “IRAs”...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act was made a part of the appropriations bill late in 2019 and was signed into law on December 20, 2019....more
Trusts & Estates attorney Samantha Heaton explains the serious impact of The SECURE Act on estate planning for retirement accounts. The SECURE Act, signed into law on December 20, 2019, has a serious impact on estate...more
Effective January 1, 2020, the rules regarding distributions from inherited retirement accounts have changed significantly. Under prior law, a so-called “designated beneficiary” of a retirement account could receive...more
The ‘Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement’ Act (the “SECURE Act”) was signed into law on December 20, 2019 and became effective January 1, 2020....more
On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act substantially changes the law applicable to IRAs and other retirement vehicles....more
New legislation impacting retirement plans and their participants was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the “SECURE Act”) is one of the...more
The SECURE Act has significantly altered the estate planning landscape for qualified retirement accounts, including, but not limited to, Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”), 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, and Roth IRAs...more
In late December, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, the most sweeping retirement legislation since the Pension Protection Act of...more
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (the SECURE Act) was passed on December 20, 2019, with most of its provisions taking effect as of January 1, 2020. The SECURE Act introduces a number of changes...more
The Setting Every Community Up For Retirement Enhancement (“SECURE”) Act, which was enacted into law last month, changed the rules governing the payout of inherited retirement benefits and essentially eliminated the “stretch...more
The first important new law impacting retirement distributions in over a decade was enacted on December 20, 2019 as the SECURE Act (“Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019”). ...more
The federal appropriations bill enacted into law on December 20, 2019 changed federal law in ways that may affect your retirement assets, including 401(k) plans and IRAs. Those changes, often referred to as the “SECURE Act,”...more
Congress recently passed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act, or the “Act”) implementing one of the most substantial pieces of retirement plan legislation in years, into law....more
The holiday season is always a busy and eventful time, so you may have missed a new law that can impact how you plan for your retirement assets. On December 20, 2019, as part of a more comprehensive appropriations act, the...more
The SECURE Act – the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” Act – was signed into law by President Trump on December 20, 2019. The law generally took effect on January 1, 2020....more
On December 20, 2019 the SECURE Act was signed into law, making major changes to retirement planning for persons who die after December 31, 2019. The SECURE Act will impact estate planning with retirement accounts in a number...more