Yesterday, our attorneys, Erin Patterson and Jeanna Shelton, attended the 41st Annual Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Program, an annual seminar on the latest legal developments, trends and techniques in estate and tax planning. The seminar was held virtually this year, but the topics were as relevant as ever, and included the following:
- The CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) and its impact on required minimum distributions (RMDs) for retirement accounts, tax deadline extensions and more;
- The SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act) and its changes to RMD rules for IRAs and other retirement plans, and the elimination of the “stretch” option for most beneficiaries;
- Charitable planning in 2020, which addressed structuring charitable giving to account for recent changes in tax law and optimizing tax benefits through such planning;
- Ethical considerations for estate planners, including representing clients with diminished capacity and best practices for client communications; and
- Recent developments in North Carolina and federal case law and legislative updates, including a survey of cases dealing with recent IRS rulings on late filings, claims, and payments, North Carolina courts' interpretation of inheritance terms for successor generations, and federal rulings on charitable donations.
Committed as always to passing these and other planning opportunities on to our clients, our attorneys have already begun incorporating the takeaways from this keystone seminar into their practice. In addition, theywelcome the opportunity to speak with clients and prospective clients about the topics discussed. Contact us today and review our blog for more information on these topics and to stay current with legal developments and trends.
