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Get Back to Your Estate Plan!

If you are like me and like many friends and colleagues you’ve been all geared up and getting ready to get back to school. Whether you have your own children in school or grandchildren or nieces and nephews or you are sending kids off to college, it feels like September is really the time when the year begins. This serves as a reminder that summer ends all too quickly and it feels like another year has gone by and things can change quickly and life just happens. Preparing for change is a big part of what we do and planning for life’s unexpected events that just happen. We could spend our days worrying about what’s in store for us around the corner or we can take time to plan in the event of a health issue or an unexpected passing of a family member so that our wishes are followed

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Is Your Trust Safe in a Divorce? The Implications of Jones v. Jones for Estate Planning in Massachusetts

An important recent case in Massachusetts has planning implications for married couples, especially when there is inherited property. The divorce of Jones v. Jones was filed in 2019. Inherited property and gifted property was a significant issue in the divorce. The wife’s mother had set up an irrevocable trust for the benefit of her daughter and had supported the couple financially throughout the marriage. The judge in the case deemed that the trust should be treated as marital property. The wife disagreed on the grounds that the interest in the trust was too speculative to be defined as such. In September 2023, the Massachusetts Appeals Court decided that the trust could be considered marital property. The wife argued that she had not received any distributions from the trust and she would not receive the trust assets in full until her mother’s death. Yet the appeals court found that the existence

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Protect Your Clients from Lawsuits with a Domestic Asset Protection Trust

Posted by Robert L. Arone Conversations with family, friends, and colleagues can sometimes wander into the topic of lawsuits, divorces, bankruptcies, and other threats that put one’s property at risk of loss to a creditor. Such conversations often leave people shaking their heads, asking what the world is coming to, and feeling vulnerable and frustrated. However, an important tool has become increasingly available to even those of modest means to protect their property from such threats at a reasonable cost and with relatively few hoops to jump through. The Domestic Asset Protection Trust A domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) is a legal structure into which a client (as the grantor or trustmaker) can transfer accounts and property such as a home, cash, stocks or other investments. Once transferred into the DAPT, the property is legally protected from future lawsuits, divorcing spouses, bankruptcies, and similar threats. Although the client has transferred

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5 Hidden Client Risks That Demand Your Immediate Attention

How to Steer Your Clients in the Right Direction Estate planning provides your clients with a wealth of opportunities to strategically grow their net worth while also planning for their families’ future comfort and security. Opportunity brings risk, but also the potential reward of deeper, longer-lasting client relationships. Educational Topics for Your Clients That Can Help Your Business What you don’t know can end up hurting your clients, and in turn, limit your ability to secure future business opportunities and retain assets under management. That’s why it’s important to learn about and discuss the potential estate planning risks faced by your clients. When you discuss the value of estate planning and these hidden risks with your clients, you strengthen your professional relationships, build long-lasting trust, and help clients maximize their financial well-being.   Risk 1: Sub-Optimal Insurance Products Problem: Busy clients can put insurance product comparison efforts on the back burner

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How Remodeling a Client Trust Can Retain Assets Under Management while Saving Clients Money

It’s a common misconception that clients can take a set-it-and-leave-it approach to trusts.  Much as houses or office buildings, even those that were originally well-built, must be remodeled or updated from time to time, a trust-centered estate plan can often benefit from a remodel or refresh. Although the principle of trust-centered estate planning has stood the test of time, there are many reasons, such as the recent tax reform, a change in family wealth or circumstances, or just a change in estate planning goals, that may necessitate a remodel for an old trust. Clients gain peace of mind while you get an opportunity to provide value. Why updating old trusts serves both you and your clients Your clients may be missing out on lucrative new opportunities, such as income tax planning opportunities to reduce the impact of the new SALT deduction limitation, or necessary protections against overly aggressive creditors unless

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