Drafting trusts that will receive retirement benefits has been a challenge for estate planners, even before SECURE.  And as we navigate the post-SECURE landscape, new drafting issues continue to arise.  Some of those issues are helped along with new legislation – such as “SECURE 2.0” – or may have been addressed in proposed regulations (that are not yet final).  One common issue is how to include charities in the estate plan when planning for retirement benefits.

Exclusive On-Demand Webinar from Natalie Choate. With respect to several issues created by SECURE and the proposed Treasury regulations on RMDs, there is still great uncertainty about whether there are “general rules” that can be applied when drafting a trust to be named as beneficiary of retirement benefits….ideally, “boilerplate” clauses that work for “everybody.”  This webinar explores several of these conundrums, explains what is at stake with the particular concern, examines various proposed solutions, and TRIES to find a recommendation enabling drafters to move forward.

Since the SECURE Act arrived in December of 2019, planners have been awaiting regulations to clarify a variety of open issues. Proposed regulations were released in late February of 2022, ending the long wait. Although the proposed regulations answer many questions, they also raise a few new wrinkles and include some perhaps surprising provisions.

The SECURE Act has been part of the estate planning landscape for more than a year, but some planners are understandably still considering how (or if) it impacts their clients.