Fundamental Concepts of Trusts & Estates for Planning & Compliance

Learning Objectives

• To identify how to read and understand estate planning instruments.
• To recognize basic fiduciary accounting principles and fundamentals
• To identify about select planning opportunities and traps
• To identify different types of trusts for income tax purposes.
• To recall the concepts of Fiduciary accounting

Course Description

Recent shifts and changes in the taxation of estates and trusts have also changed some of the planning techniques that practitioners should consider when advising clients. This 8 hour CPE webinar will help you learn the fundamental concepts of  trusts and estates for planning & compliance which will provide your clients with greater value. This 8 hour CPE webinar is divided into 4 sessions and will cover Trusts & Estates, Fundamental of Trust Taxation, Application of  30 common Trusts and IRAs payable to Trusts after Secure Act.

Session 1 - About Trusts and Estates

This is an Online Webinar on the intergenerational transfer of property - focusing on what the CPA should know about trusts and estates. It will cover a broad number of topics ranging from the fundamental legal principals necessary for the trust and estate practitioner to understand. The ability of language in the trust instrument accomplishes a certain tax result. 

This Online CPE Webinar covers following Key Topics in Session 1:

• Legal definitions and principals involving estates and trusts
• Basic principles regarding property ownership
• Types of trusts commonly used
• Trust accounting fundamentals
• Certain clauses that are important to understand
• Formula valuation clauses
• Requirements for a trust to be a qualified designated beneficiary of an IRA
• Using IRD to fund charitable bequests

Session 2 - Fundamentals of Income Taxation of Trusts & Form 1041 Planning

With more and more trusts being used today and audits of Form 1041 (U.S. Income Tax Return for Estates and Trusts) on the rise, it has never been more critical to understand the ins and outs of income taxation of trusts and estates and the preparation of the Fiduciary Income Tax Return. Recent shifts and changes in the taxation of estates and trusts have also changed some of the planning techniques that practitioners should consider when advising clients.

Even if you are helping clients with a modest net worth, most will set up an inter vivos or testamentary trust or at least their estate will have to file an income tax return. This webinar is therefore helpful because there are many unique aspects to tax accounting for trusts and estates. For example, fiduciary accounting is a unique concept and many other deductions are subject to a different set of rules compared to individuals. This webinar will help you learn specialized knowledge and provide your clients with greater value. This webinar is designed for participants to understand the core concepts of trust and estate income tax preparation. The webinar explains the common terminology and complicated income tax rules of estates and trusts, fiduciary accounting, and an introduction to or refresher on preparing Form 1041.

This Online CPE Webinar covers following Key Topics in Session 2: 

• Grantor trusts
• Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs)
• Bracket Management
• Shifting Income with Trust Distributions
• Limit on Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions
• State Income Tax Planning for Trusts
• Form 1041 Example

Session 3 - Efficacy and Application of 30 Common Trusts

When you hear the words “trust” or “trust fund,” the first image that may come to mind is a wealthy family in a mansion with inherited wealth passed down from generation to generation. However, you don’t have to be a member of the Rockefeller or Gates families to set up and benefit from a trust. A trust is a legal vehicle that allows a third party, a trustee, to hold and direct assets in a trust fund on behalf of a beneficiary. A trust greatly expands your options when it comes to managing your assets, whether you’re trying to shield your wealth from taxes or pass it on to your children.

Trust terminology can unfortunately be very confusing. A 100-page document is often named using the terms of a single-clause. However, practitioners must navigate this strange practice if they are to effectively advise their clients. This webinar will cover 30 of the most popular types of trusts and explain in what situations they are generally effective for clients.

This Online CPE Webinar covers following Key Topics in Session 3:

• Revocable Living Trust (RLT)
• Irrevocable Trusts
• Simple Trusts; Complex Trusts
• Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT)
• Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
• Charitable Lead Trust (CLT)
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)
• Stand-Alone IRA Beneficiary Trust
• Special Needs Trust (SNT)
• Minor Trust
• Spendthrift Trust
• Blind Trust
• Discretionary v. Non-Discretionary Trust
• Medicaid Trust
• Crummey Trust
• 2642(c) Trust
• Bypass Trust (B-Trust or Credit Shelter Trust)
• Qualified Terminal Interest Property Trust (QTIP Trust or marital trust)
• Dynasty Trust (GST Exempt Trust)
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)
• Grantor Retained Unitrust (GRUT)
• Grantor Retained Income Trust (GRIT)
• Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT)
• Qualifying Domestic Trust (QDOT)
• Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)
• Incomplete Gift Non-grantor Trust (ING)
• Domestic Asset Protection Trust
• Foreign Trust
• Electing Small Business Trust (ESBT)
• Qualified Subchapter S Trust (QSST)

Session 4 - IRAs Payable to Trusts After the Secure Act

This is a critical post-Secure Act class for Accounting Professionals, Tax Professionals, Lawyers drafting trusts to receive IRAs at death and the CPAs and Financial advisors that work with those lawyers. 

Unfortunately, not enough attention is paid to the tax aspects of IRA planning and the opportunities to preserve retirement funds after death. Nevertheless, with a solid understanding of the post-Secure Act IRA provisions, one will be able to plan around the key issues and identify opportunities. The ten-year rule under 401(a)(9)(H) was layered over the existing statute and underlying 401(a)(9) regulations. Most IRAs will be subject to the ten-year rule, but traps and exceptions continue to exist in the expanded labyrinth of tax and property law surrounding IRA-Trusts.

In this exclusive LISI Webinar, which includes flowcharts, tables, and spreadsheets, 

This Online CPE Webinar covers following Key Topics in Session 4:

• The Ten-Year Payout Rule and the Five Statutory Exceptions under the Secure Act
• The Secure Act’s Conduit Trust Disaster and what the Drafting Attorney must know
• Understanding the four types of Trusts after the Secure Act; the Conduit Trust, the Designated Beneficiary Trust, the Non-Designated Beneficiary Trust and the Eligible Designated Beneficiary Trust
• Understanding the Ghost and Five-Year Trap
• Drafting Conduit Eligible Designated Beneficiary Trusts
• Drafting Accumulation Trusts for Disabled and Chronically Ill Beneficiaries
• Drafting Designated Beneficiary Accumulation Trusts for Non-Exception Beneficiaries
• When to use Non-Designated Beneficiary Accumulation Trust for Non-Exception Beneficiaries
• Payouts when a Beneficiary Dies
• The “Catch-22” of Drafting in a Second or Third Marriage
• Drafting Beneficiary Designation Forms and Drafting the four types of Trusts
• Understanding the Secure Act’s Ten-Year Rule along with the Existing and Surviving Five Year and Ghost Rule.
• What to do when an IRA is Payable to Non-Designated Beneficiary Trusts and the Five Year and Ghost Traps
• What to do when an IRA is Payable to a Designated Beneficiary Trust
• Understanding the Special Rules for Eligible Beneficiaries and Eligible Beneficiary Trusts
• Understanding the Conduit Eligible Beneficiary Trust
• Understanding conduit and accumulation trusts and when to use each
• Reviewing Beneficiary Designation Forms and Qualified Trusts
• Weaving Disclaimer Planning to Beneficiary Designation Forms and Trusts
• The Impact of ERISA, REA and Community Property
• Spousal Rollovers Outright and from Trusts
• How to use Stretch out Strategies still Available
• Using out of State Trusts to Reduce State Income Taxes



This 8 hour CPE webinar is specifically meant for CPAs and Financial Planners so that develop a fundamental understanding about Trust and Estate in order to serve their client better. Robert Keebler is an expert advisor family wealth transfer. estate tax planning and retirement distribution planning advisor.