Publications
How New Trust Laws Are Leaving Wealthy Families Unprotected
A new generation of trusts where beneficiaries may never learn of their interests, trustees face minimal liability for mismanagement, and family businesses can be gutted without legal recourse. These aren’t hypothetical risks—they’re features explicitly authorized by state law.
The erosion of fiduciary duties represents a critical moment for trust law and family wealth planning. Whether this moment leads to the collapse of trust as a meaningful legal instrument or to the evolution of more sophisticated, resilient governance structures will depend on the choices made by settlors, trustees, beneficiaries, and policymakers in the coming years.
What Families Should Be Asking Their Estate Planners In 2026
Can Your Trust Structure Survive What's Coming? For families, trust design is everything. The right trust in the right state can protect millions; the wrong structure can create tax disasters or leave assets vulnerable. Can Your Trust Structure Survive What's Coming?
Are Your Business Assets and Retirement Accounts Optimally Structured?
Which QSBS strategies will survive if Congress cracks down?
Do your legacy life insurance trusts reflect today's reality?
60th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
The Heckerling Institute provides specialized professional education dedicated exclusively to the legal and tax aspects of estate planning. Educational topics include Planning with Trusts, Recent Developments, Business and Financial Assets, Litigation, Charitable Giving, Elder Law, Ethics, International Planning, Technology, and Fundamentals of theUniform Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates Act and the Restatement (Third) of Conflict of Laws.
Succession: The Brewing Controversy Over the Murdoch Family Trust
The Murdoch Family Trust, Rupert Murdoch's media empire, is embroiled in a significant dispute that has implications far beyond the world of media. As reported by The New York Times, this unfolding drama sheds light on the complexities of managing high-value assets—whether they be media companies, art collections, or estates.
The trust, established during Murdoch's 1999 divorce, was designed to grant voting rights to his older children while securing financial benefits for his younger ones. Now, at 93, Murdoch is in a legal battle with three of his four adult children over who will control the empire after his death. This situation echoes similar conflicts in other media dynasties and offers valuable lessons for anyone managing assets with high emotional and financial stakes.
Key Takeaways:
Succession Planning: Just as family businesses need clear plans for leadership transition, so too do artists and collectors to preserve their legacy.
Governance Structures: Establishing clear decision-making processes is essential to prevent disputes.
Common Goals: Aligning the interests of all stakeholders ensures long-term value preservation.
Professional Mediation: Neutral third parties can help navigate complex dynamics and protect the integrity of valuable assets.
Whether you're managing a media empire or a treasured art collection, the principles at play in the Murdoch case offer crucial insights for ensuring your legacy endures.
Corporate Transparency Act: Updating Legal and Other Documents
Practitioners need to modify their procedures to accommodate new filing requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) took effect Jan. 1, 2024. Hers are practical steps practitioners should take to modify their practices to accommodate the new CTA requirements.
What Are the Duties of A Trustee?
Trust Agreement is the written document directing the management of the property, the payments of income and principal, and the scope and duration of the Trust. What are the Duties of the Trustee? The duties of the Trustee arise from the Trustee’s obligation to carry out the Grantor's intentions in creating and funding the Trust. There are five general duties of the Trustee – to be prudent, to carry out the terms of the Trust, to be loyal to the Trust, to give the Trust their personal attention, and to account to the beneficiaries of the Trust.
Tax Planning for Stock Options
Stock options, that is the contractual right to buy the stock of an employer by an employee at a discount price, remains a popular way for companies to compensate employees without incurring an immediate financial cost, and for employees to receive some participation in the equity of the company without incurring immediate income taxes. If you have stock options, whether Qualified or Non-Quantified, is important to consider not only when you might exercise the options during your lifetime, but also how you might hold the options after your death.
What Is A Trust?
What is a Trust? A Trust is created when you transfer the financial benefit of property to a third party while keeping the legal ownership and control by appointing themselves, a financial institution or another individual as the Trustee. In short, a Trust is set up by a Grantor, managed by a Trustee, and benefits the beneficiaries. Separate people can hold each of these roles, or the same person can hold all three.