Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Book on IRS Compliance Issues and IRA Trust Violations

Seymour Goldberg (CPA, MBA, JD) recently published a book entitled, IRA Guide to IRS Compliance Issues Including IRA Trust Violations, American Bar Association, (Apr. 2013).  Provided below is a description of the book from the ABA Store’s website:

Based on government reports from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the GAO, there is a significant amount of noncompliance from taxpayers who make excess contributions to IRA accounts, and from taxpayers who fail to receive timely required minimum distributions.

The IRS is developing a long-term compliance initiative to reduce the growing noncompliance involving retirement accounts. This strategy will include the development of techniques to identify individuals who are not in compliance. It will include, according to a government report, education, outreach programs. and other guidance.

This essential guide outlines many of the mistakes that are made by IRA account holders from an IRS compliance point of view, understanding that is quite easy for a taxpayer who has an IRA or inherits an IRA to fall into a tax trap and violate the IRA rules. The IRA Guide to IRS Compliance Issues will help you be aware of the potential IRA violations that may be triggered and how to be proactive and not reactive when it comes to IRA issues. Issues covered in the book include:

•  IRA Trust Checklist with Practitioner Tips

•  Statute of Limitations Involving IRA Penalties

•  IRS Levy on IRA to Satisfy Federal Tax Debts

•  Early Distribution Penalty Violation

•  Required Minimum Distribution Penalties

•  Important IRA Distribution Tax Traps to Know About

•  Excess Contributions

•  Violations of the Rollover Rules Non-Spouse Beneficiaries

•  Disclosure Issues and IRA Trusts

•  Circular 230 Violations

•  Loss of Creditor Rights Protection of Decedent's IRA in State Court

•  Asset Protection for Inherited IRAs

•  And much more

Discover the potential legal pitfalls that may befall your clients who may inadvertently have violated complex IRS IRA rules, and have the information you need to help you deal with your clients' fear of pending audit with this valuable addition to your resource material.

A New Book On California Community Property

Charlotte K. Goldberg, (Professor of Law, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles) recently published the revised fourth edition of, Examples & Explanations: California Community Property (4th ed. 2013). A description from amazon of the book is below:

Using the Examples & Explanations pedagogy and FITS (Funds, Intentions, and Title)—an original tool for understanding the complexities of California Community Property—Charlotte Goldberg presents an effective and timely overview of California’s community property system.

• FITS (Funds, Intentions, and Title)—a class-tested, unique tool for determining, under California law, whether marital property is to be considered community or separate property
  • The FITS acronym helps students to understand the roles that funds, intentions, and titles play in characterizing property as either separate or community
• the proven-effective Examples & Explanations pedagogy combines straightforward introductions with well-written examples and explanations that apply concepts, reinforce learning, and test understanding of material covered
• meticulous treatment of joint titles and reimbursement, featuring examples thoroughly illustrating all possible scenarios, including retroactivity
• coverage of tangible and intangible property, such as businesses, educational degrees, goodwill, and pensions
• premarital agreements and recent amendments to the Premarital Agreement Act

Updated throughout and with many new examples, the Second Edition features:

• major developments regarding retroactivity of the Family Code—affecting premarital agreements, fiduciary duty, and domestic partnerships
• several new cases clarifying premarital agreements and fiduciary duty
• new case decision regarding celebrity goodwill
• coverage of Family Code §4 and §2640(c)

Designed and written for the needs of students, Examples & Explanations: California Community Property, now in a Second Edition, combines the time-tested E&E pedagogy with a class-tested tool of analysis that makes an enormous difference in the depth and quality of students’ understanding of California community property law.

Book On Financial Planning Advice For Wealthy Families

Ellen Miley Perry, managing partner of a financial planning firm assisting the affluent community, wrote a book entitled, A Wealth of Possibilities: Navigating Family, Money, and Legacy. The Amazon book description is below. 

What separates financially successful, multigenerational families who flourish from those who languish? With professional knowledge, informed reflection, and poignent and charming anecdotes, Ellen Perry shares her twenty-five years of experience advising more than one hundred wealthy families. A Wealth of Possibilities is a variegated road map of many accessible paths and byways for anyone seeking to improve his or her family's internal communication, cohesion, and sense of well-being. Offering a bounty of practical advice, thoughtful insights, and probing questions, A Wealth of Possibilities provides commonsense approaches and profoundly meaningful solutions to many of the most vexing issues confronting wealthy families.

See Michelle Singletary, Grass Isn't Always Greener Across Financial Lines, Washington Post, May 3, 2013.

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (John Theodore Fey Research Professor of Law, George Washington University School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.

Strange Funeral Traditions

Death comes to us all; this is a universal truth and people often have no say in their own demise. How we choose to be remembered after we die, however, is a completely different story. When it comes to how we plan our funerals the only limitations are our own creativity. Now, "most people stick to your average burial or cremation." Others are less than traditional. For example, in Los Angeles people can choose to have a funeral where their guests pay their respects simply by going through a drive through. If you are a bit more racy, in Taiwan the mourners can order strippers to help with the grieving process. Resident in Australia sometimes choose to have their coffins lowered to the song, "I'm Too Sexy," by Right Said Fred. Others rather go out with bang and not a wimper by trying to set a world record while being remembered. The best part of all of the wacky options is that there is no need to worry about the outcome because you will not be there if something does go wrong!

Kathy Benjamin recently published her book about funerals entitled, Funerals to Die For: The Craziest, Creepiest, and Most Bizarre Funeral Traditions and Practices Ever.

See Kathy Benjamin, Weirdest Funeral Traditions, The Huffington Post, Apr. 2, 2013.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.

Book on Rights and Duties of Trust Parties

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. (Attorney, Massachusetts) & Charles E Rounds, III (Attorney, Colorado) recently published a book, Loring and Rounds: A Trustee's Handbook (2013 edition). A description of the book is below:

In the 114 years since its first publication, Augustus Peabody Loring’s compact A Trustee's Handbook has come to be regarded as the most convenient, reliable, and complete source for trust research. This classic reference distills the essence of trust law, illuminating the fundamental principles and answering the basic questions:

• What are the duties of the trustee?
• What are the rights of the beneficiary?
• What are the rights of the settlor?
• What are the rights of third parties involved?

Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook, 2013 Edition carries on the tradition of concise, practical and up-to-date guidance for trustees, giving you the latest in-depth information on how to stay on top of the developments in this complex field of practice.

Loring and Rounds: A Trustee's Handbook is the gold standard and indispensable “go-to” resource for anyone seeking a comprehensive explanation of the vast tapestry of trust law. For over one hundred years it has been the bible for professionals and non-professionals, lawyers and non-lawyers who create, administer, and benefit from trusts.

Book on American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012

The CCH Editorial Staff (A provider of tax, accounting, and audit information, Riverwoods, Ill.) recently published a book entitled, Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Provisions Explained American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,(2013). Provided below is a short synopsis from the book: 

This book includes explanations of the transfer tax provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240), as excerpted from Law, Explanation and Analysis of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (CCH Book 05824501). For furtherdevelopments, see www.CCHGroup.com/TaxUpdates.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Michael Levin's New Minibook for People in the Financial Industry

Michael Levin (Founder and CEO of Business Ghost, Inc., Orange County, Caliornia) recently published a book, The Financial Advisor's Dilemma.(2013). A description of the book as provided by Business Ghost, Inc., is below:

This short, powerful minibook by New York Times best-selling author and Shark Tank entrepreneur Michael Levin, with a foreword by Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, can transform your position in the marketplace.

In The Financial Advisor’s Dilemma, you’ll get answers to these pressing questions:

• Why do those in the financial industry have such a difficult time creating trust with prospects?
• Is there a proven alternative to both cold calls and spending thousands of dollars on dinner events for high net worth prospects?
• How can you stand out from the pack without breaking the bank?
• What’s the easiest way to get speaking engagements, radio and TV appearances?
• What’s the one thing to add to your website that practically no other financial advisor can offer?

New 15th Edition of Estate Planning and Taxation

The New 15th edition of Estate Planning and Taxation is now available.  Below are some of the book's features as listed on the publisher's website: 

• Is written for the professional or student pursuing a career in financial services, taxation, or law in which estate planning and estate and gift taxation is but one of several principal areas of practice.
• Is chock-full of pedagogical devices – including examples to clarify concepts, end-of-chapter questions with solutions, glossary, tax and valuation tables, and more.
• Includes an instructors package with test bank
• Draws heavily on primary sources of the law, both Internal Revenue Code and cases.
• Is adaptable to law school courses in estate planning and taxation, giving the law student a strongly quantitative slant that is often overlooked in traditional law books, even those dealing with taxes.
• Features access to ETAX 2012 –an educational estate and gift tax spreadsheet program that calculates basic estate tax, state death tax credit, and cumulative gift tax figures.

Please click here for more information or to purchase the book--available as an EBOOK or in printed form.

Book on 2012 Estate Planning

Before the year is up, get your e-copy of 2012 Estate Planning: Tax Planning Steps to Take Now.  Martin M. Shenkman (Esq.), Jonathan Blatmachr (Esq.) and Robert S. Keebler (CPA) authored the book that is available on amazon.com for $39.95. Please click here to purchase the book. 

 

Harvard Law Professor Writes Book about Same-Sex Marriage and the Courts

Michael Klarman wrote a new book entitled From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle For Same-Sex Marriage.  In his latest book, the Harvard Law School professor explores his idea that political backlash follows when courts when courts get ahead of public opinion as it is applied to same-sex marriage.

Within the book, he also details the history of the gay rights movement, how gay marriage became a legal issue and the costs and benefits of related litigation over the past 20 years. Please click here for a more in depth coverage of the book.

See Emily Newburger, The Courts and Public Opinion: Klarman Examines Legal Fight for Same-Sex Marriage, Harvard Law School, Nov. 14, 2012. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Book on Tax Planning for Retirement

Rick Rodgers (Certified Financial Planner, President, Rodgers & Associates, Pennsylvania) published a book entitled, The New Three-Legged Stool: A Tax Efficient Approach to Retirement Planning, WIley Trading (2009). Provided below is the book's description from Amazon.com:

Most people dream of retirement as a relaxing, worry-free time in their lives. What many do not realize is that the IRS is also looking forward to the day you retire. Our complicated tax system can mean the government is entitled to a significant amount of your retirement assets-unless you protect them properly.

Now, Rick Rodgers, founder of one of the country's top wealth managers, helps you retain as much of your hard-earned retirement assets as possible. His unique Three-Legged Stool approach to financial security makes it both easy to understand how to achieve this retirement security and difficult to "lose balance"-that is, to get off-track once you've established your plan.

Rodgers will show you how to balance between the three "legs," or components, you will need to create the most tax-effective financial structure.

• Leg One, Tax-Deferred Savings Strategies
• Leg Two, After-Tax Savings Strategies
• Leg Three, Tax-Free Savings Strategies

Plus, a closer look at

• the all-important Retirement Distribution (R/D) Factor
• Social Security
• Estate planning

With real-life case studies, tips, and recommendations from Rodgers' own experiences as a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Retirement Counselor, this guide will help you establish a plan to build the retirement you and your family have always dreamed of-and deserve.

Book on Delaware Trusts: "Delaware Trusts 2012"

Dick Nenno's book, Delaware Trusts 2012, is now available for order.  Topics include:

• 2011 Delaware trust law changes and caselaw developments
• Benefits for trusts governed by Delaware law
• Resources for the creation of Delaware trusts
• Delaware Dynasty Trusts and Asset Protection Trusts
• Why create a trust in Delaware and not elsewhere

To order this resource, please click here.

Estate Planning for the Blended Family

L. Paul Hood and Emily Bouchard have recently published their book entitled Estate Planning for the Blended Family which is available in both print and ebook format.

Here is the publisher's description of the book:

Make plans for the future of your unique family!

Every family is different, and blended families -- defined as those with children from previous marriages or couplings included -- can be even more difficult to plan for. When dealing with complicated family situations, cookie-cutter estate plans just don’t work!

Estate planning can be difficult as the subject matter can seem complex for non-lawyers, and family members can be hesitant to clearly voice their opinions on touchy matters. However, planning the future of your family’s estate is crucial for the emotional and financial well-being and stability of all family members, and having everything in order will bring invaluable peace of mind.

Estate Planning for Blended Families outlines estate planning specifically for blended families, addressing the special concerns and issues that may arise from the process in this very special of
circumstances.

By providing various examples of different blended families, the authors give advice and focus on techniques of estate planning for blended families in many different situations. Whether you are a member of a blended family looking to plan your estate or an attorney looking for advice, this book can help you move forward with confidence.

This book includes a CD-ROM full of supplemental resources and helpful tools to better plan your family’s estate.

Discount Available on "Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Examples & Explanations"

For a discount (over $12)  from the publisher on Wills, Trusts, and Estates: Examples & Explanations (5th ed. 2012), follow the link and use the code 1TTU.

This code may be used on other Aspen law school supplements as well.

Book on Drafting Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

Lawrence Brody (Attorney, Missouri) & Donald O. Jansen (Senior Tax Counsel at the University of Texas System, Texas) recently published a book, The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: Forms with Drafting Notes (3rd ed. 2011). A description of the book is below:

An integral part of every estate planner's practice is giving advice and making recommendations about life insurance. This best-selling volume in the popular Insurance Counsel or series guides you through one of the most fundamental aspects of sophisticated estate planning--drafting and setting up an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust. Now completely updated, this user-friendly primer offers a comprehensive overview of the types of insurance trusts you can draft for your clients, and includes examples of the necessary forms and a memorandum you can use in your daily practice. 

Clear and concise, The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust will help you protect your clients' estate and assets from taxation. It differentiates between the two types of trusts you may use, identifying the best one that will work for your client. The book contains these sample forms, both in the text and on an accompanying CD-ROM:

• Single Life Policy Trust: Intended to primarily benefit the insured's spouse and children
• Survivorship Policy Trust: Meant to serve as a long term, generation-skipping "dynasty" trust for the benefit of children and future descendants

Accompanying each of the two sample forms are:

• Notes to Drafter Section: Alerts you to special problems associated with planning and drafting
• Clear Outline: Written in layperson's language, this is designed to provide nontechnical guidance to your client regarding the provisions of each sample form

Finally, this primer contains both a sample memoradum to a client who has created an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, outlining the procedures which need to be followed by the insured/grantor and by the trustee in order to comply with the requirements of the agreement and federal tax law, and a sample transmittal letter to accompany the memorandum.

Book on Conservation Easements

David Dietrich and Christian Dietrich recently published their book entitled, Consesrvation Easements: Tax and Real Estate Planning for Landowners and Advisors.  A summary of the book is below: 

Historical form documents are often employed when an attorney is negotiating a conservation easement. This decision might not be the attorney's choice but based instead on the land trust's comfort with these established agreements. However, to competently advise clients considering an easement donation or sale, these documents require a deeper understanding of the statutory, regulatory, and common-law principles at play in conservation easement transactions as well as a working knowledge of how to use the available resources in this complex field. 

Conservation Easements: Tax and Real Estate Planning for Landowners and Advisors provides attorneys with an additional resource to the area's earlier established texts as well as a growing number of online sources. In particular, this book offers an invaluable collection of tips and techniques learned from the author's decades of conservation easement practice. This book provides attorneys and their clients with an understanding of the broad scope of conservation easement law, appropriate both for practitioners unfamiliar with the complexities of the subject as well as for those with more experience who are looking for specific guidance. Topics covered include:

• The statutorily allowed conservation purposes required for tax deductibility
• When limited development might be allowable on easement-encumbered land
• Tax consequences of conservation easements
• Easement valuation and appraisal
• The roles of each participant in the transaction, including individuals, estates, land trusts, and governmental entities
• Issues that may arise under tax law both during easement formation and over the life of the easement
• Concerns that may arise over the life of the easement
• Funding sources for conservation actions

To learn how the book's information is applied in practice, the book features four conservation easements in actual use, along with a recap of practical drafting tips and helpful IRS materials. Appendices are also provided on an accompanying CD-ROM.

For more information, or to purchase the book, please click here.

AIER Booklet: “If Something Should Happen” Offered Free To Public During June, July

The following is from an AIER press release:

For the months of June and July, the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER) is offering 10,000 free hard copies and unlimited free digital copies of its popular, all-in-one planning guide, If Something Should Happen: How to Organize Your Financial and Legal Affairs.

The short, 44-page book takes the guesswork out of everyday estate planning and uniquely helps readers pull together everything that’s necessary into one single place – thereby creating a ‘master plan’ in the event something should happen.

AIER, an independent research organization that focuses on providing practical, personal finance tools, is giving away complimentary copies of the book because “not nearly enough people plan for an unexpected illness, or even their death.  They delay planning because the process appears overwhelming, or they simply expect to get to it ‘one day’.  With the right tools in hand, however, planning doesn’t have to be stressful,” says AIER Research and Education Director Steven Cunningham.

AIER’s book – which discusses creating a will and where to keep financial documents, as well as provides worksheets for recording financial, personal, medical and insurance information  – is the perfect tool for readers who want to avoid sending their loved ones scrambling, trying to pull together the pieces of an uncertain financial puzzle under the most stressful conditions.
 
If Something Should Happen breaks the planning process into three easy steps:

1.  Taking stock -- This chapter addresses areas to review before delving into the specifics of estate planning and financial organization.

2.  Planning -- This chapter reviews key planning documents and the roles of individuals involved in making decisions in the event of disability or death.

3.  Organizing your records -- This chapter provides a series of fill-in-the-blank forms to help individuals get a handle on their finances and create a “master plan” to share with the individuals they have chosen to assume various responsibilities.

The booklet also includes a page of resources, if readers want more detailed information on any particular aspect of the process, such as pre-paid funeral arrangements, wills and trusts, or powers of attorney.

Complimentary copies of If Something Should Happen are available throughout June and July while supplies last.  To receive a free digital copy, visit www.aier.org.

To receive a free hard copy, call 1-888-528-1216 and press 0.

"The Inventor's Fortune Up For Grabs"

Suzanne G. Beyer (no relation) & John S. Pfarr have recently published their book entitled The Inventor's Fortune Up For Grabs."  Here is a description of this interesting work:

In 1913, Art Hadley invented the expansion bracelet, now a worldwide standard for jewelry and wristwatches, and amassed considerable wealth. He passed it on to his children, but when they died, Art's fortune was up for grabs.

Told from two perspectives—that of the attorney [John S. Pfarr], who negotiated a $1.8 million settlement, and one of the heirs he represented [Suzanne G. Beyer] —this true story tells how a group of cousins, some of whom had never met, could unite and journey on a six-year odyssey of setbacks, divisive stubbornness and stunning victories.

Suzanne and eight other descendants of Art Hadley engaged John to represent them in investigating whether they were entitled to any of the Art Hadley fortune. This captivating tale illustrates the significance of faith, commitment, family unity, spiritual guidance, the ups and downs and countless delays of the legal system, and the corruptive effect of greed and self-defeating arrogance.

Our account hinges on a set of facts and circumstances in a case that fell through the legal cracks. There was no clear winner or loser; there is no one who was right and no one who was wrong—simply a group of people fighting for what they believed was fair and in keeping with Great Uncle Art’s wishes. Unfortunately, there was no governing law in Rhode Island that could provide a precedent to help decide this case. We were in uncharted territory.

New Edition of Uniform Trust and Estate Statutes Forthcoming

Foundation Press has recently announced the forthcoming publication of Uniform Trust and Estate Statutes, 2012-2013 Edition, edited by Thomas Gallanis of the University of Iowa.  The book will be printed in mid-May, and the ISBN is 978-1-60930-136-1.  This new edition has the updated text and official comments of the Uniform Probate Code, Uniform Trust Code, and more than a dozen other acts relating to the field of trusts and estates.  The book also includes relevant provisions of the Restatement Third of Trusts and the Restatement Third of Property, as well as selected prior versions of UPC sections.   The book is ideal for teaching basic and advanced courses in wills and trusts.  It is also ideal for practitioner reference.

Here is the table of contents:

Part One: Probate Statutes

    Uniform Probate Code (1969, with Subsequent Amendments, including an extensive array of technical amendments in 2011)

    United Kingdom Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, as amended by the Family Law Act 1996 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004

Part Two: Trust Statutes

    Uniform Trust Code (2000, with Subsequent Amendments)

    Uniform Principal and Income Act (1997, with Subsequent Amendments)

    Uniform Prudent Investor Act (1994)

    Uniform Custodial Trust Act (1987)

 Part Three: Other Uniform Acts

    Model Protection of Charitable Assets Act (2011)

    Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (2006, with 2007 Amendments)

    Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (2006)

    Uniform Parentage Act (2000, with 2002 Amendments)

    Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act (1993)

    Uniform Simultaneous Death Act (1993)

    Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (1986)

    Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act (1984)

    Model Marital Property Act (1983)

    Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (1983)

Texas Guardianship Manual (3rd ed.)

Texas Bar Books has published Texas Guardianship Manual (3rd ed.) (2012). A description of the book is below:

The Texas Guardianship Manual has demonstrated its value to every lawyer who administers guardianships. The manual is organized by the logical sequence of events that would occur while following a matter from beginning to end. Each chapter contains a detailed table of contents; each contains practice notes concerning the topic of the chapter. The forms take up the greater part of most chapters. The uniform format of practice notes and forms is designed to enhance readability and ready reference and to accommodate easier word-processing use of the forms.

The new edition features new sections on end-of-life planning and declaration for mental health treatment. New and updated sections include:

• Surrogate Decision Making (with subsection on end-of-life planning)
• Interventional alternatives
• Declaration for mental health treatment
• Pooled trust subaccounts
• Management of community property by spouse
• Probate court jurisdiction

New and thoroughly updated forms include:

• Authorization agreement for nonparent relative
• Engagement letter
• Application and order for no administration/family allowance
• Application and order for removal of disabilities of minority
• Physician’s Certificate of Medical Examination

In addition, the new digital product (included with purchase of the manual) contains a custom tool bar for Word that allows users to show, hide, print, and delete all instructional material in the forms. And using the forms is made easier with prompts that help the user navigate through the decisions and options necessary to complete each form.