For many estate planning clients, retirement assets will be the largest asset they own at their death. Passing retirement accounts to intended beneficiaries requires special knowledge and careful planning.

From long-awaited guidance on the tax treatment of cryptocurrency to the banning of forced arbitration agreements for workers in California—we’ve recently seen some impactful developments in estate planning and business law. To ensure that you stay abreast of these legal changes, we’ve highlighted five noteworthy developments and analyzed how they may impact your estate planning and business law practice. 

Happy Veterans Day! In honor of our veterans, let’s take a look at the structure of the Veterans Asset Protection Trust (VAPT). The VAPT is a powerful tool that can protect assets while enabling the grantor to qualify for needs-based pension benefits. There are two sub-trusts within the VAPT – one is a grantor sub-trust and the other is a non-grantor sub-trust. Why is it structured this way? The Veterans Affairs (VA) has a direct line of communication with the IRS. The VA routinely checks the tax returns of pension recipients, to get income information. Because of this, it is best to avoid any “phantom income” from a grantor trust being reported on the grantor’s tax return. This additional reported income may jeopardize eligibility for benefits.