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Avoiding the Obamacare Tax (Penalty)

Posted by Mark L. Dodds

By now, most of us know that U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts upheld “Obamacare” by ruling that the penalty imposed upon a person for failure to purchase health insurance is not a penalty, but is actually a tax. For those individuals who are self-employed or retired and do not have W-2 wages withheld, it may be possible to avoid buying insurance and also avoid paying the tax/penalty. Here’s why: The government can only collect the tax/penalty for failure to purchase health insurance from any tax refund which you have coming. So for those of us who do not have W-2...

01 April

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Uniform Principle and Income Act (UPAIA)

Posted by Robert L. Morris

Unitrust Conversion. A unitrust, or total return trust, is a trust that pays beneficiaries a fixed percentage of trust assets as opposed to paying them the income from the trust assets. Under Nevada law, the term “income” means an annual distribution from the trust equal to not less than 3 percent and not more than 5 percent of the net fair market value of the trust’s assets as determined at the end of the calendar year by averaging, over the preceding 3 years, both the income and principal assets of the trust (trustee or beneficiary can petition the court to...

01 April

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Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA)

Posted by Robert L. Morris

Trustees are to administer a trust or estate in accordance with the terms of the trust or will in spite of the provisions of UPIA.[i] Otherwise, trustees are obligated to comply with the prudent investor rule.[ii] The prudent investor rule consists of the trustee considering the terms, purposes, requirements for distribution and other circumstances of the trust when investing and managing trust property. The trustee is to satisfy this standard by exercising reasonable care, skill and caution.[iii] This standard dates back to Harvard College v. Amory, 26 Mass. (9 Pick) 446 (1830). Trustees should “observe how men of prudence, discretion...

01 April

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Duties of a Trustee

Posted by Robert L. Morris

[caption id="attachment_1566" align="alignright" width="300"] The Offices of Grant Morris Dodds[/caption] The first duty of the Trustee is to honor and Carry out the intentions of the settlor or the trust as provided for the in the trust agreement. Almost all rules of the rules of trust law are default rules that the settlor can “alter or abrogate.”[i] Beneficiaries of a trust can also excuse the performance of a trust when all are “capable and not misinformed” under traditional trust law.[ii]Trustee Duties. Other duties of the Trustee are as follows: Duty of Loyalty. Under a Duty of Loyalty, a trustee who invests and manages trust...

01 April

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The role of Trust Protectors, Trust Advisers, and Special Fiduciaries

Posted by Robert L. Morris

This article explains some of the powers that Trust Protectors, Trust Advisers, and Special Fiduciaries might be given. Trust Protector: a trust protector is a third party who is given contractual powers to protect the terms of a trust. The position of trust protector has been common in offshore asset protection planning but is a newer concept in onshore asset protection planning. A trust protector’s powers and authority are spelled out in the trust instrument. The most common power of a trust protector is the ability to remove and replace a trustee who is not administering the trust according to its...

01 April

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Charging Order Protection is Now Available for Small Corporations

Posted by David M. Grant

The following article was written by David M. Grant and Jeremy K. Cooper and was originally published in COMMUNIQUÉ (May 2009, Vol. 30, No. 5), the official journal of the Clark County Bar Association. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” This timeless cliché accurately portrays the logic behind Nevada’s recent ground-breaking decision to extend charging order protection beyond the realm of partnerships and limited-liability companies (LLCs) to corporations operating as small businesses. Closely-held corporations, until now, have never received the same charging order protection their partnership and LLC cousins have enjoyed, but because these entities share many commonalities,...

01 April

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Family Friendly Provisions of the Nevada Probate Code

Posted by Robert L. Morris

in Probate

The unexpected loss of a loved one can leave a family not only with a huge emotional loss but also in financial straits. The purpose of the Nevada Probate Code, as found in Title 12 of the Nevada Revised Statutes, is to accomplish the speedy settlement of a decedent’s estates at the least expense to the parties involved. See NRS 132.010. A major concern of the Probate Code is the continued care of the surviving spouse and minor children. There are several family friendly provisions that allow for: 1) the set-aside of estates to surviving spouses and minor children despite the...

28 March

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International Business Companies (“IBCs”) & Offshore LLCs

Posted by David M. Grant

The British Virgin Islands International Business Company. As stated above, many foreign jurisdictions have taken the International Business Companies (IBC) Act of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and adopted it with hardly any change. For this reason the BVI’s laws are the “gold standard” in IBC legislation. As such, this outline will cover some of the particulars of the BVI IBC law. History of the IBC in the BVI. The BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 (as amended, the Act), is the sole corporate statute in the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) and regulates all BVI companies. The old International Business Companies Act,...

28 March

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Overview of Offshore Companies

Posted by David M. Grant