Mental illness in the United States is more common than most people may think. More than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness and one in six U.S. youth aged 6 to 17 experience a mental health disorder each year....more
In the complex world of estate planning, irrevocable trusts offer a robust mechanism for protecting assets from various threats, including bankruptcy and divorce. This article delves into the specific protections offered by...more
Creating a domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) that both has multijurisdictional contacts and is nonvoidable in whole or in part is easier said than done. There are the state conflict-of-laws issues, a few of which I...more
Consider the following situation. Settlor owns a thousand acres of land in a domestic-asset- protection haven (DAPT state). While he is alive, he transfers in trust the land to a corporate trustee that does business...more
Your Health, Your Choice: A Guide to Medicare Open Enrollment - The Medicare open enrollment period runs through December 7th, 2023. Medicare adjusts costs, coverage, and accepted providers on an annual basis. If you have...more
The aging population is expected to transfer $30 trillion in the coming years, per Forbes. According to the Survey of Consumer Finances, the median inheritance is $69,000; the median for trust fund wealth transfers is...more
You’ve likely spent most of your adult life accumulating wealth that you intend to eventually pass on to your loved ones. But are you concerned that the beneficiaries of your estate might squander their inheritance?...more
As we prepare for the Halloween season, there are many reasons to be on edge. These fears may involve ghosts and goblins for some, while others may view estate planning as frightening. Although I have yet to find an effective...more
Section 2030 of California’s Family Code provides an important safeguard to ensure the fairness of marriage dissolution proceedings. It allows the Court to order a more financially well-off party to pay some or all of the...more
In Tomlinson v. Khoury, a judgment creditor discovered that the judgment debtor was the trustee and beneficiary of a spendthrift trust and brought a turnover action to invalidate the trust. No. 01-19-00183-CV, 2020 Tex. App....more
Assailant's Spendthrift Trust Accessible to Child of Murdered Parents - de Prins v. Michaeles, SJC-12865 (October 20, 2020) - In de Prins v. Michaeles, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) tackled a trust...more
Cleopatra Cameron is the granddaughter of wealthy oilman Arthur A. Cameron. Cleopatra’s father, Arthur A. Cameron, Jr., created several spendthrift trusts for Cleopatra’s benefit which are collectively referred to in this...more
Disinherited Son Loses Bid in New York to Share in Father’s Estate Based on Brother’s Promise - Matter of Estate of Fogel, No. 2006-1234/B (Kings Sur. April 10, 2019) - A disinherited son tried to make a claim on the...more
First, in Calhoun v. Rawlins, No. 17-P-40, 2018 WL 3131023 (Mass. App. Ct. June 27, 2018), the Appeals Court held that creditors could access a spendthrift trust that was created for a beneficiary with cognitive impairments...more
In late March, the Georgia House of Representatives (by a vote of 103-56) and the Georgia Senate (by a vote of 43-6) passed HB 441, which would have made Georgia the 18th state to permit self-settled domestic asset protection...more
In Bradley v. Shaffer, family members placed mineral interests they inherited into the trust. No. 11-15-00247-CV, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 11154 (Tex. App.—Eastland November 30, 2017, no pet.). ...more
In Bradley v. Shaffer, Darrell, a beneficiary of a mineral trust established by his grandparents, purported to convey to Bradley his mineral interests that were subject to the trust and any interest held in trust that he...more
The fourth quarter of 2017 concludes a unique year in the planning arena. With the new administration and a Republican-led Congress in power, both taxpayers and tax professionals have kept a close eye on the potential for tax...more
A person doesn’t have to hold onto assets until the day he or she dies with the hope that heirs will change their ways by that time. Instead, consider using a spendthrift trust that can provide protection, regardless of how...more
In This Issue: - An uncertain tax climate: An estate tax repeal might result in negative tax consequences for some families - A 529 plan can benefit your estate plan - Would a spendthrift trust help achieve your...more
On March 23, 2017, at the request of a certified question from the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court answered the age-old question – “what gives”? That is to say, what gives – the...more
This week has brought a much-anticipated decision by the Supreme Judicial Court regarding trust decanting, and the past month also brought the latest chapters in two cases that we reported on previously....more
In In the Interest of H.D.V., a husband appealed from a bench trial in a divorce proceeding. No. 05-15-00421-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 9520 (Tex. App.—Dallas August 26, 2016, no pet. history). His mother had set up a trust for...more
On August 4, 2016, the Supreme Judicial Court issued its highly anticipated decision in Pfannenstiehl v. Pfannenstiehl, 2016 Mass. LEXIS 591, reversing an Appeals Court decision that had been a hot topic of discussion among...more
A recent decision out of a New Jersey Bankruptcy Court highlights a loophole in the Bankruptcy Code which may allow Chapter 7 debtors to keep significant assets out of the hands of trustees and creditors. In In re...more