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Many Americans spend a lot of time and effort in managing their finances. While most are worried about how the coronavirus (COVID-19) will impact their income—whether that’s because they are temporarily furloughed, find themselves suddenly without a job, or watching their investment and retirement accounts dwindle—there is another way COVID-19 can wreak havoc on American’s finances: lack of incapacity planning.

As the coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life and leave Americans uncertain of the future, you don’t have to feel helpless during this pandemic. In fact, now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead should you or a loved one fall ill.

Families with substantial wealth looking for fiduciary services may wish to consider forming a Private Single Family Trust Company as an alternate option. A Private Single Family Trust Company exists to provide fiduciary services to the family’s trust(s) and is a state-charted entity that is created by the family.

A conditional gift can be as simple as requiring a beneficiary to reach a certain age before he or she receives a gift from a will or trust. A conditional gift such as this can be important to ensure a young beneficiary has obtained a proper level of financial maturity so that an inheritance remains a blessing and not a curse.

As domestic self-settled spendthrift trusts (AKA Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, or DAPTs) become more popular as asset protection structures for those with increased assets or exposure to liability generally, more states are hopping on the band wagon and enacting legislation allowing these types of trusts to be established in their respective jurisdictions. Nineteen such states have now enacted such legislation, with the latest being Connecticut.

At the end of the day, the Executor or Trustee of your estate is going to need to know what asset you have, and more importantly, how to access these assets. Because Crypto and other electronic assets typically involve crypto keys, it is very important that you make these known and available upon your passing or incapacity.

Parents, grandparents, and anyone who was funded a UTMA account! Are you aware that once a minor of a UTMA account reaches the age of majority (18 most states), he or she has the absolute right to withdraw all assets without any strings attached?

The Trustee of a Trust is the person in charge, the manager, the mover and shaker when it comes to fulfilling the intent of the Trust. The Settlors (those creating the Revocable Living Trust) will need to consider and ultimately pick who will be the Trustee of their Trust.

A kind reminder to fellow Estate Planning and Tax practitioners that March 15th is the deadline for filing IRS Form 3520-A, the Annual Information Return of Foreign Trusts with a U.S. Owner (or filing an extension via form 7004). The IRS requires the 3520-A to be filed when there is a foreign/offshore trust with a U.S. owner for income reporting requirements.

In a nutshell, wills are simpler, shorter, and often times less costly. A properly drafted Will allows you to pick the beneficiaries you want to inherit your property at your death.