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Webinar Summary

Estate Planning Masterclass: Bonus Session—Critical Topics We Didn't Have Time to Cover

Speaker(s): Alan Gassman, JD, LL.M., CPA; Scott Levin, JD

Original Air Date: July 29, 2026

Run Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

CE Credit: N/A

Topic Area: Advanced Estate Planning • Trust Planning • Charitable Planning • Asset Protection

Key Takeaways

• Irrevocable trusts should be reviewed regularly because changes in tax law, family circumstances, and beneficiary needs often require modifications. 
• Trust protectors, decanting statutes, judicial modifications, and non-judicial settlement agreements each provide different methods for updating older trust documents. 
• Charitable planning strategies—including charitable lead annuity trusts (CLATs), charitable remainder trusts (CRTs), and qualified disclaimers—can improve estate, income, and capital gains tax outcomes when properly designed. 
• The SECURE Act has fundamentally changed inherited IRA planning, making accumulation trusts more appropriate than conduit trusts in many situations. 
• Estate plans should be reviewed every few years to account for changing laws, changing asset values, and evolving family circumstances. 

Updating Older Irrevocable Trusts

Many irrevocable trusts drafted years ago no longer reflect today's estate planning environment. Changes in tax law, beneficiary circumstances, and planning objectives frequently require modifications after a trust has been established.

The presenters reviewed four primary methods for updating existing trusts:

• Trust Protectors 
• Trust Decanting 
• Judicial Modification 
• Non-Judicial Settlement Agreements 

Each method has advantages depending on state law and the language already contained within the trust document.

Details / Numbers to Know

• Trust protectors should generally be included when drafting new irrevocable trusts. 
• Several states have enacted trust decanting statutes, although availability varies by jurisdiction. 
• Judicial modification remains an option when other modification methods are unavailable. 

Trust Protectors: Building Flexibility into Estate Plans

The presenters strongly encouraged including trust protector provisions in modern irrevocable trusts.

Trust protectors provide flexibility by allowing specified changes when tax laws, beneficiary needs, or family situations change without requiring complete trust reconstruction.

Proper drafting is critical. Trust protector powers should be carefully tailored to avoid unintended income tax, estate tax, or fiduciary consequences.

Details / Numbers to Know

Trust protectors may help address:

• Changes in tax law 
• Special needs planning 
• Beneficiary protection 
• Grantor trust status 
• Trustee succession 
• Administrative changes 

Decanting and Trust Modifications

Decanting allows assets from one irrevocable trust to be transferred into a newly drafted trust with improved provisions while maintaining the same general beneficiaries.

When decanting is unavailable, judicial modifications or non-judicial settlement agreements may achieve similar results depending on state law.

The presenters emphasized reviewing both the governing state's statutes and the trust document itself before determining which approach is available.

Details / Numbers to Know

Questions advisors should ask include:

• Does the trust authorize decanting? 
• Does state law permit decanting? 
• Is a trust protector available? 
• Would judicial modification be required? 

Charitable Planning Strategies

The session reviewed several sophisticated charitable planning techniques.

Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts (CLATs) can transfer future appreciation to heirs while providing current benefits to charity and, in certain situations, significant income tax deductions.

Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) remain valuable for clients holding highly appreciated assets who want to diversify investments without immediate capital gains recognition while creating lifetime income.

The speakers also discussed donor-advised funds, private foundations, and charitable disclaimers.

Details / Numbers to Know

Planning tools discussed included:

• CLATs 
• CRTs 
• NIMCRTs  
• Flip CRUTs 
• Donor-Advised Funds 
• Private Foundations 
• Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) 

Qualified Disclaimers

Qualified disclaimers continue to provide valuable post-death planning flexibility.

A properly executed disclaimer allows a beneficiary to refuse inherited property so it passes according to the estate plan's contingent beneficiary provisions.

The presenters emphasized that disclaimers must satisfy strict statutory requirements.

Details / Numbers to Know

A qualified disclaimer generally must:

• Be completed within nine months. 
• Be irrevocable. 
• Be made before accepting benefits from the asset. 
• Follow the governing beneficiary designation. 

Inherited IRA Planning After the SECURE Act

One of the most practical discussions focused on inherited retirement accounts.

Because most non-spouse beneficiaries must now distribute inherited IRAs within ten years, conduit trusts frequently produce undesirable outcomes by forcing assets directly to beneficiaries.

The presenters generally favored accumulation trusts in situations involving creditor concerns, spendthrift beneficiaries, or asset protection planning, while recognizing the tradeoff of compressed trust income tax brackets.

Details / Numbers to Know

Topics discussed included:

• SECURE Act 10-year rule 
• Conduit vs. accumulation trusts 
• Creditor protection 
• Compressed trust tax brackets 
• Beneficiary Deemed Owner Trust (BDOT) planning 

Special Needs Planning

The webinar reviewed several planning options for beneficiaries with disabilities, including:

• Third-party special needs trusts 
• First-party special needs trusts 
• ABLE accounts 
• Pooled trusts 

The presenters stressed coordinating these strategies with experienced elder law counsel because Medicaid rules vary by state and improper planning can jeopardize benefits.

International Estate Planning: QDOTs

For clients with non-U.S. citizen spouses, Qualified Domestic Trusts (QDOTs) remain an important planning tool.

Unlike transfers between two U.S. citizen spouses, transfers to non-citizen spouses generally do not qualify for the unlimited marital deduction unless structured appropriately.

Proper planning can defer estate tax while preserving flexibility for the surviving spouse.

Client Conversation: Practical Application

• Review irrevocable trusts every three to five years rather than assuming older documents remain effective. 
• Revisit inherited IRA beneficiary designations after the SECURE Act to determine whether conduit trusts should be updated. 
• Consider whether clients with charitable intent could benefit from CLATs or CRTs instead of outright charitable gifts. 
• Evaluate whether trusts contain sufficient flexibility through trust protectors or decanting provisions. 
• Coordinate complex estate planning strategies with qualified estate planning attorneys and state-specific counsel. 

Sources & References

• Internal Revenue Code §§ 664, 170, 2055, 2518, 2056A 
• SECURE Act of 2019 
• Uniform Trust Decanting Act 
• IRS Publication 559 (Survivors, Executors, and Administrators) 
• IRS Publication 590-B (Distributions from IRAs) 
• IRS Qualified Disclaimer Rules
  https://www.irs.gov/ 
• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
  https://www.actec.org/ 

Compliance Note: This summary is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute individualized legal, tax, investment, or estate planning advice. Advisors should consult qualified legal and tax professionals before implementing advanced estate planning strategies.