Blog Posts in May, 2016

Total Return Unitrust Promotes Smooth Sailing

Imagine sailing a beautiful sailboat without a rudder. The captain may end up sailing in a circle, or worse, sailing directly into a storm. When it comes to drafting trusts, it is essential that your Trustee (Manager) has clear instructions (i.e., a rudder) on how to manage investments and make distributions from the trust. We suggest that you consider using a Total Return Trust with Unitrust ...

To Fund or Not To Fund Your Revocable Trust - That is the Question

As estate planning attorneys, for years we created revocable trusts for clients and generally recommended the use of trusts to hold assets for the further benefit of the surviving spouse as well as children and more remote descendants. However, with recent changes in the federal estate tax law, including an estate tax rate of 40%, a federal exemption to $5,450,000 for 2016 and the addition of ...

Choosing a Fiduciary: It's a Job, Not a Reward

We spend about 45 years working to amass a nest egg to provide for our retirement and to leave a legacy for our family. That's approximately 85,000 hours at work. Why then do we spend so little time deciding who will manage our nest egg after we become incapacitated or die? The decision of who will serve as personal representative of your estate or trustee of your trust (collectively your ...