Session 1 – When to Refuse a Windfall: Strategic Disclaimers, Timing, and Irrevocable Consequences
Learning Objectives:
• Understand when accepting inherited assets creates tax or planning risk
• Apply qualified disclaimer strategies
• Recognize trust distribution issues
• Evaluate real‑world trust drafting problems
Key Topics:
• Qualified Disclaimer rules (IRC §2518)
• The 9‑month rule and prohibition on accepting benefits
• Redirecting assets to bypass trusts
• Protecting beneficiaries through strategic refusals
Planning Risks When Accepting Assets:
• Estate tax inclusion
• Medicaid eligibility problems
• Asset protection failures
• Commingling inherited assets
Trust Distribution Discipline:
• Mandatory vs discretionary distributions
• HEMS standard limitations
• Spendthrift protections
Session 2 – Estate Planning for Digital Assets + Medicaid Asset Protection Planning
Learning Objectives:
• Identify digital asset categories requiring planning
• Understand fiduciary access under RUFADAA
• Create digital asset inventories
• Integrate Medicaid planning into estate strategies
Digital Asset Categories:
• Cryptocurrency wallets
• Online businesses
• Intellectual property
• Cloud‑stored records
• Online brokerage accounts
Planning Challenges:
• Password access vs legal authority
• Multisignature wallets
• Valuation and tax reporting issues
• Lost private key risks
Medicaid Planning Strategies:
• Medicaid Asset Protection Trusts (MAPTs)
• Five‑year lookback planning
• Medicaid‑compliant annuities
• Strategic asset repositioning
Session 3 – Best Estate Planning Ideas for Clients with $2–$5 Million
Learning Objectives:
• Implement high‑impact strategies for middle‑affluent households
• Avoid unnecessary complexity
• Coordinate tax, estate, and asset protection planning
Core Strategies:
Tax Optimization
• Portability elections
• State estate tax planning
• Basis step‑up strategies
• Lifetime gifting discipline
Control and Protection
• Revocable living trust optimization
• Retirement trust planning post‑SECURE Act
• LLC asset protection structures
Business Owner Planning
• Buy‑sell agreement coordination
• Cross‑purchase vs entity redemption planning
Avoiding Overengineering:
• When GRATs are unnecessary
• When ILITs are appropriate
• Clayton election flexibility
• BDOT planning considerations
Session 4 – The Estate Plan That Actually Survives
Learning Objectives:
• Prepare heirs for inheritance responsibilities
• Evaluate trustee structures
• Stress‑test estate plans against life events
• Facilitate family governance conversations
Beneficiary Readiness:
• Financial education for heirs
• Transparency about trust structures
• Setting expectations around distributions
Trustee Selection:
• Individual vs corporate trustees
• Co‑trustee structures
• Directed trust models
• Trust protector roles
Flexibility Tools:
• Trust decanting
• Powers of appointment
• Trust protectors
• Directed trusts
Family Governance:
• Estate alignment meetings
• Inheritance expectation conversations
• Advisor‑attorney‑CPA coordination