Joint vs. Individual Trusts in Separate and Community Property States
Key Structuring Considerations, Identifying "Problem" Assets, Coordinating With Credit Shelter Trusts, Drafting GPOAs
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE webinar will provide estate planners with a thorough and practical guide to overcoming challenges of utilizing joint and individual trusts in separate property/common law states. The panel will outline when to use joint marital trusts (JMTs) as opposed to individual trusts and vice versa. The webinar will identify specific tax traps and offer drafting language to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of using either JMTs and individual trusts in separate and common law states.
Outline
- Community property states
- Tax and non-tax considerations
- Gift and estate tax issues to avoid in funding and administering
- Income tax issues and potential advantages
- Drafting recommendations and resources
- Separate property states
- Tax and non-tax considerations
- Gift and estate tax issues to avoid in funding and administering
- Income tax issues and potential advantages
- Drafting recommendations and resources
- Transitioning from community to separate property states and vice versa
- Navigating state law issues
- Tax and non-tax considerations
- Gift and estate tax issues
- Income tax issues and potential advantages
- Drafting recommendations
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are the gift, income and estate tax risks to utilizing joint vs. individual trusts in separate and community property states?
- What are the administrative and accounting costs associated with the use of joint trusts in separate property states?
- Coordinating joint revocable trusts with credit shelter trusts
- Drafting general power of appointment in JRTs in non-community property states
Faculty

Beth S. Cohn
Shareholder
Jaburg Wilk
Ms. Cohn chairs the firm’s Estate Planning and Business Law Department. As both a Tax Specialist certified by the... | Read More
Ms. Cohn chairs the firm’s Estate Planning and Business Law Department. As both a Tax Specialist certified by the State Bar of Arizona - Arizona Board of Legal Specialization and a Certified Public Accountant, she has a unique expertise in assisting her clients with their estate planning as well as closely held businesses. She has assisted hundreds of families - including ones with substantial assets - with their estate needs ranging from simple estate plans to complex multi-generational gifting plans. She assists families, closely held businesses owners and individuals by providing succession planning, business planning and estate planning.
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Dan McKenzie
Attorney
McKenzie Law Firm
Mr. McKenzie has helped consumers who had been defrauded by unfair business practices or who had been physically... | Read More
Mr. McKenzie has helped consumers who had been defrauded by unfair business practices or who had been physically injured by poorly designed and inadequately tested products. Since opening his own office, his goal has been to help clients identify and mitigate their risks to the full extent possible, with the goal of avoiding expensive and time-consuming litigation.
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Rhonda A. Miller
Partner
Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig
Ms. Miller runs the national estate planning and tax department for the global law firm Dunlap, Bennett & Ludwig,... | Read More
Ms. Miller runs the national estate planning and tax department for the global law firm Dunlap, Bennett & Ludwig, PLLC, working out of their Vienna office where she concentrates on sophisticated estate planning including special needs trusts, asset protection trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, charitable remainder trust, qualified small business trusts and other trust used to minimize or eliminate capital gains and estate tax. In addition, she focuses on administering large and complex estates including litigation with respect to those estates and correcting documents to optimize tax efficiencies. Ms. Miller is highly sought after public speaker. She frequently teaches continuing legal education and is a continuing education sponsor for the Certified Financial Planner Board and insurance agents. Ms. Miller was named Best Attorney by the Wall Street Journal and won Top 50 Women Lawyers in Virginia. She is a member of the bars of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the District of Columbia, and the State of California. Ms. Miller earned her B.A. degree, with honors, from Pennsylvania State University and J.D. degree, with honors, from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
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