The Credit Shelter Trust goes by many names. A Credit Shelter Trust may be called a Bypass Trust or B Trust, a Unified Credit Shelter Bypass Trust, or a Non-Marital Trust. This type of trust typically appears within the estate plan of a married person. When one spouse dies, the Credit Shelter Trust springs into existence. With careful planning, the Credit Shelter Trust can maximize the estate tax exemption of the first spouse to die, prevent disinheritance of the first spouse’s beneficiaries, and protect assets for those beneficiaries and the surviving spouse. On the downside, the assets in the Credit Shelter Trust do not receive a basis adjustment for capital gains tax considerations when the surviving spouse dies. Outdated trusts may have Credit Shelter Trust plans that no longer have the spouse’s intended results now that the estate tax exemption amount is high and portability is available for the surviving spouse. More flexible updated approaches use Disclaimer Trust or Clayton Election provisions.

Why does a trust’s situs or location matter? The location of a trust can have huge consequences on taxes. States impose different income taxes and estate taxes on trusts. Some states allow trusts to exist longer than other states and so make better choices for establishing Dynasty Trusts. Some states authorize self-settled spendthrift trusts, and so make the only choices for establishing Domestic Asset Protection Trusts. This video explores five topics regarding a trust’s location: state income tax, state estate and inheritance tax, state limits on trust duration, states with asset protection trusts, and other location considerations.

What is a blind trust? Blind trusts are not trusts for people who cannot see, and they are not asset protection trusts. Blind trusts are primarily for politicians and government officials.

How does the IRS categorize trusts from a tax perspective? The IRS divides trusts into three basic categories: simple trusts, complex trusts, and grantor trusts. Why does the way the IRS categorizes taxes matter? These distinctions can result in widely different income tax bills because trusts get taxed at a higher rate than most individuals.

Dynasty trusts save large amounts in taxes, protect your inheritance, and preserve your values for generations. This presentation explains the basics of dynasty trusts, how they work to save death taxes, their advantages, and some of their disadvantages.

This presentation clearly explains the federal estate tax, the estate tax exemption, and the impending deadline of January 1, 2026 for the sunset of high estate tax exemption rates, and what that means for estate planning for high net worth families.

There are four major types of federal tax to consider when planning your estate: income tax, estate tax, gift tax, and generation skipping transfer tax. This presentation briefly introduces five key concepts and terms related to each tax, namely: Grantor Trust Status, Estate Inclusion, Completed Gift, Basis Adjustment, and Generation Skipping Transfer Tax.

From the perspective of estate planning, what is a trust? This video briefly explains the basic concepts of a trust, namely, the trust’s purpose, grantor, funding, beneficiary, beneficial interest, and trustee. This is the foundational video of iPlanLaw’s educational series on estate planning.

The revocable living trust often serves as the foundation of an estate plan. But what is it? This video addresses the definition, advantages, and limitations of a revocable living trust. In addition to other advantages, revocable living trusts enable the grantors who establish the trust to keep their estates out of court in the event of incapacity and after their deaths. However, revocable living trusts only control assets that are funded to the trust, and some assets should not be funded to the trust or pass by other means. Therefore the revocable living trust is an essential part of a complete estate plan, but is not sufficient in itself.