When creating a trust, determining who you want to serve as trustee(s) and benefit from the trust as beneficiaries are decisions that need to be made for every trust. The role of “trust protector” may not be as commonly known...more
Irrevocable trusts can be effective for estate planning, but they can also create problems. This blog post will draw lessons from the case of Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire owner of Fox News and News Corporation, who is...more
In a recently-issued Revenue Ruling (Rev Rul 2023-02), the IRS has held that the basis of the assets in an irrevocable grantor trust, where the assets are not included in the grantor’s gross estate for federal estate tax...more
Losing a family member or friend is a difficult situation for everyone. In 1969, the Swiss-American psychiatrist Elizabeth Kübler-Ross wrote in her book “On Death and Dying,” that grief could be divided into five stages:...more
“It is only when the tide goes out that you learn who has been swimming naked”. This quote – usually attributed to Warren Buffett – resurfaces when economic conditions worsen, but what does it mean? In the context of the...more
This presentation covers trust issues that arise in divorce disputes, such as spouses creating an irrevocable trust, fraud claims to void a trust, conflict of interest issues raised by the same attorney drafting both spouse’s...more
Extra, Extra!- Last Friday afternoon, as millions of unsuspecting Americans prepared for the long Memorial Day weekend – for many, perhaps, their first mask-less holiday celebration in almost 15 months – the Biden...more
In Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth v. Episcopal Church, the Texas Supreme Court addressed whether a withdrawing faction was entitled to church property and also addressed a trust issue. No. 18-0438, 2020 Tex. LEXIS 434 (Tex....more