A small change that will likely have a huge impact on private placement investments was recently passed by the SEC. In calculating a person's net wealth to determine if they are considered an accredited investor, the SEC will no longer...
Continue reading "Your House is No Longer Considered Wealth"
The law firm of Mcguire Woods has recently published a legal update on developments in fiduciary administration law. The various updates and topics are discussed by examining nine recent cases dealing with various topics in fiduciary law. For the full report See "Mcguire Fiduciary...
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Huguette Clark's estate's accountant and lawyers are dismissed under accusation of failing to properly account for the estate's taxes. However, there is also concern that the heiress may have been involved in the possible fraud. See "Taxes Questioned, Accountant...
In July, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has extended the July 16, 2011 deadline under Section 408(b)(2) of ERISA to April 1, 2012 in order to allow service providers more time to comply with their disclosure fees for plan...
Lauren Foster provides tips on how a trustee (and the initial testator) can avoid potential liability during trust management under the Uniform Prudent Investor Act. First, trustees should avoid managing trusts with a heavy concentration in one asset. Second,...
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Tara Siegel Bernard at the NY Times has written "Retirement Plan Providers Can Now Offer Own Advice". Currently, providers need to hire an independent adviser to provide advice to potential clients. On December 27, 2011, the rules will change to...
Continue reading "Changes to ERISA Allow Retirement Plan Providers to Act as Advisers as Well"
McGuireWoods.com features an article discussing recent cases concerning the liability trustees may face for investment losses. The article address several 2011 cases from both federal and various state courts.See Dana G. Fitzsimons, Jr. and Meghan L. Gehr, "Recent Cases of...
Continue reading "New Cases in Trustee Liability for Lost Investments"
The Labor Department defended its plan to expand the definition of "fiduciary" to cover people advising retirement accounts on a commission-fee basis. The central concern of the Department is that advisors will push financial products for which they receive a...
The Wall Street Journal Online features an article reporting an increase in lawsuits against estate executors in recent years. Executors need to have knowledge of taxes, investments, and conflicts of interest, which leaves non-professionals greatly exposed to suit. The article...
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The Wall Street Journal's editorial "The 2013 Tax Cliff" describes the tax increases that will take effect in January, 2013. President Obama's proposal includes a cap on itemized deductions and exemptions for high-earning people, limits on tax breaks for oil and...
Continue reading "Small Businesses Have a 16 Month Tax Respite Before Hikes in 2013"
The Wealth Strategies Journal has posted a new article entitled, "Recent Developments in Asset Protection Law - August 2011," by Jay Adkisson.Posted by Matthew Engler, Managing Associate Editor....
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The Wealth Strategies Journal has posted a new article entitled, "Annuities and the Law of Unintended Consequences," by David F. Sterling, JD. This is the second article in a series by Mr. Sterling on annuities. His first article, "Annuities: The...
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The Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas has affirmed a trial court's decision to remove an executor from his duties and allow the beneficiaries to recover attorney fees for the cost of his removal. In In re Estate Of Vrana,...
The Wealth Strategies Journal has published a new article, entitled "Ode to the Trust - 2nd Sonata," by Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, JD.In this article, Mr. Shenkman completes his discussion of trust management and various nuances that fiduciaries must...
In PLR 201129049, the IRS ruled that a private foundation's receipt of promissory note payments from a privately held corporation after a period of estate administration terminations will not constitute self-dealing because the transaction satisfies the estate administration exception of...
