The Irrevocable Spousal Trust (“IST”) is an irrevocable trust created for the lifetime benefit of the grantor’s spouse, and then typically for the benefit of children or grandchildren. The IST is [...]
President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”) on December 22, 2017. Since most of the TCJA sunsets on December 31, 2025, the TCJA is inherently temporary. What Changed. The [...]
The Senate and House of Representatives have both passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”), and President Trump signed the Act on December 22, 2017. The TCJA makes numerous changes to [...]
On November 2, 2017, the House of Representatives introduced H.R. 1, dubbed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This bill is not law and, in fact, has a long way to go before becoming law – there will be [...]
The Standard. A trustee must manage a trust according to a “prudent person” standard. A trustee is a fiduciary, which means the trustee’s actions must be in the best interests of the [...]
By its nature, an irrevocable trust cannot generally be changed. And the big fear of every irrevocable trust is inflexibility. Of the many “future looking” powers we can include in a trust, [...]
Starting January 1, 2015, new rules apply to Powers of Attorney executed in Pennsylvania. The first major change is the requirement of two independent witnesses. The witnesses must be over 18 and [...]
Lifetime trusts offer families both tax and non-tax benefits. Careful drafting of lifetime trusts allows greater-than-expected flexibility to address unexpected future circumstances. Tax [...]
A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (“QPRT”) is a trust into which you transfer a personal residence. The QPRT document gives you (and often your spouse) the right to live in the [...]