From the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling holding trustees and beneficiaries liable for unpaid estate taxes to the invalidation on constitutional grounds of a California statute requiring diversity in corporate board membership, we have recently seen significant developments in estate planning and business law. To ensure that you stay abreast of these legal changes, we have highlighted some noteworthy developments and analyzed how they may impact your estate planning and business law practice.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is commemorated each year on June 15. If communities can better understand elder abuse, folks can be better equipped to recognize it and take steps to prevent it. Elder law attorneys are in close proximity to seniors and are often in a unique situation to observe signs of elder abuse. However, are attorneys allowed to report such abuse?

The Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT) is an irrevocable trust used for Medicaid planning or asset protection purposes. After assets are funded into the trust and the look-back period has expired, the assets in the trust are non-countable for long-term care Medicaid eligibility. The MAPT has several aspects that result in tax advantages, such as being a grantor trust and having trust income taxed according to the Grantor’s income tax brackets instead of trust taxation rates. Other tax advantages that the MAPT can be designed with stem from retaining a limited power of appointment (LPOA). Let’s take a deeper dive into the LPOA.