In the course of a trust administration, beneficiaries primarily want to know what will be distributed to them and when it will be distributed. Attorneys who represent trustees, however, must prevent trust distributions until the proper time—that is, until all liabilities have been paid or reasonably accounted for with a reserve. Otherwise, a trustee may face personal liability and need to seek indemnity from beneficiaries who may have already spent the funds distributed to them. In a postdeath administration, there may be trust and nontrust liabilities (or the decedent’s liabilities), including the decedent’s debts and various taxes. In addition, a trustee must pay the expenses of the administration or reserve funds for payment of those expenses. 

From the announcement of the 2023 limits on contributions to retirement accounts to a new proposed rule for classifying independent contractors, 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 practices.

The number of blended families is increasing, as more than 1,300 form every day. In these types of families, one or both spouses have children from previous relationships and they may have children together. Working with blended families will be a common scenario for you as an estate planning attorney (if it is not already), and each family’s plan will be different. The goals of individual family members may be at odds, as not all blended will look like an episode of The Brady Bunch or Modern Family.