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No Second Chances for Faulty IRA Trusts
Lawyer Blogs |
2010/09/07 07:17
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font size=2Postmortem wealth transfers to IRA beneficiaries continues to present estate planning challenges.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanAlthough perhaps not the final word on the matter, the IRS now prevents postmortem trust reformation designed to allow trustees to treat them as designated beneficiary trusts.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanThe relevant ruling is PLR 201021038.
/fontfont size=2 face=arial,helvetica,sans-serifThe broadness of the limited power of appointment was perhaps the most critical flaw in the subject trust.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanIt was too broad to be able to determine the correct measuring life.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanThere were other flaws as well, most notably the trust’s naming of charities as potential beneficiaries.
/fontfont size=2font face=arial,helvetica,sans-serifThe tax consequences of this ruling are devastating to any similarly-flawed trust:span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanBeneficiaries cannot stretch out required withdrawals over the lifespan of the oldest beneficiary but would presumably have to withdraw all money from the plan within just a few years.
/fontfont face=arial,helvetica,sans-serifUnless a tax court modifies this ruling – and until it does – the bar is very high indeed for those who draft trusts for the purpose of receiving postmortem IRA distributions.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanIn short, get it right the first time!span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanI would read and reread /font/fonta href=http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode26/usc_sec_26_00000401----000-.html target=_blankfont size=2 face=arial,helvetica,sans-serifsection 401(a)(9)/font/afont size=2 face=arial,helvetica,sans-serif to ensure the trust conforms to the section’s standards precisely.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanGoing forward, you may also wish to give grantors an opportunity to review the terms of their trusts to ensure they conform with the changing law on this subject.span style=mso-spacerun: yesnbsp; /spanA brief look every three-to-five years is appropriate, although factors like ill health /font |
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The Rosen Law Firm Files Securities Fraud Class Action Against American Apparel, Inc.
Press Release |
2010/09/06 07:23
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| p jquery1283869659187=48NEW YORK, Sep 7, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. today announced that it has filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of America Apparel, Inc. (American Apparel) span id=quote124732125 class=quotepeekbase bgQuote up jquery1283869659187=28span class=bgChannel/quotes/comstock/14*!app/spanspan class=bgRealtimeChannel/quotes/nls/app/span (span class=symbola title=American Apparel Inc href=/investing/stock/APPfont color=#004176 size=2APP/font/a/span strongspan class=data bgLast symbolfont size=21.07/font/span/strong, span class=data bgChange symbolfont color=#007c1d size=2+0.01/font/span, span class=data bgPercentChange symbolfont color=#007c1d size=2+0.94%/font/span) /spanstock during the period from December 20, 2006 to August 17, 2010 (the Class Period). /ppTo join the American Apparel class action, go to the website at a href=http://www.rosenlegal.comfont color=#004176http://www.rosenlegal.com/font/a or call Laurence Rosen, Esq. or Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653, or you may also email lrosen@rosenlegal.com or pkim@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. /ppThe case is pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of court or you may contact counsel for plaintiffs Laurence Rosen, Esq. or Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email lrosen@rosenlegal.com or pkim@rosenlegal.com. /ppNO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY CHOOSE TO DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT AND REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER. /ppThe Complaint asserts that during the Class Period, defendants misrepresented American Apparel's hiring practices and the impact of such practices on the Company's business and financial performance. The Company's hiring practices were improper and beginning in July 2009, American Apparel revealed that it was being investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency regarding the Company's compliance with U.S. immigration law. On August 17, 2010, the Company announced it expected to report a loss of $5 million to $7 million in the second quarter of 2010 on net sales of $132 million to $143 million. According to the announcement, a significant factor in such losses was lower labor efficiency at the Company's production facilities in the second quarter of 2010 compared to the prior year period. The lower labor efficiency was primarily a result of the hiring of over 1,600 net new manufacturing workers during the second quarter of 2010. As a result, the Complaint alleges that the price of American Apparel stock declined, damaging investors. /ppA class action lawsuit has already been filed on behalf of American Apparel shareholders. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than October 25, 2010. If you wish to join the litigation or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Laurence Rosen, Esq. or Phillip Kim, Esq. of The Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via e-mail at lrosen@rosenlegal.com or pkim@rosenlegal.com. /ppThe Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. /ppThis news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, a href=http://www.globenewswire.comfont color=#004176www.globenewswire.com/font/a /p |
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Law firms may be forced to publish diversity figures
Topics in Legal News |
2010/09/05 07:28
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| pJustice may be blind, but the legal profession isn't, and from next year the public may get to see just what kind of people they are buying their legal services from./pp sizset=65 sizcache=0The a title= href=http://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/font color=#005689Legal Services Board (LSB)/font/a, the body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales, is mulling over a title= href=http://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/firms-and-chambers-face-obligation-to-publish-staff-diversity-and-class-data-from-next-yearfont color=#005689plans that would require law firms and chambers to compile and publish comprehensive diversity information about their staff/font/a . This would include the seven diversity strands – age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation and working patterns – plus social mobility./ppThe work is the latest in a string of initiatives aimed at changing the profile of the profession. However, the headline statistics are pretty good. Women have made huge strides over the last 40 years and it will not be long before they make up the majority of solicitors, while black and minority ethnic (BME) lawyers are over-represented in the profession in proportion to the population as a whole./ppBut this only tells part of the story. The LSB notes that much of the work has focused, successfully, on entry level. For example, only a quarter of law firm partners are women, and a mere 3.5% of partners in the biggest 150 firms are BME. The anticipated 'trickle up' effect has not materialised, it says. There is also evidence of significant pay differentials, as well as concern that the impressive BME statistics mask significant under-representation for some groups, such as African-Caribbean men and Bangladeshi women./p |
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Lynberg Watkins
Legal Marketing News |
2010/09/03 07:18
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Since its inception, Lynberg amp; Watkins has grown to represent clients on a local, regional and national basis. The firm maintains two California offices: one in the center of the Los Angeles financial district and one in the heart of Orange County.
The firm has experienced continued growth since its founding in 1971 allowing it to actively practice in many diverse areas of the law. The firm's representation is substantially on behalf of defendants, insurance companies and their insureds, public entities and self-insuring organizations.
We are structured into teams providing clients with the benefits of collective experience and knowledge.nbsp; Senior members of the firm have the responsibility for supervising a team comprised of associate attorneys, paralegals and support personnel.nbsp; Each client matter is assigned to one senior member of the firm who bears the ultimate responsibility for its handling from inception through trial. The senior member and associates are at all times readily accessible and available to the client.
The firm includes attorneys who are long-standing members of the American Board of Trial Advocates, the Association of Southern California Defense Counsel, The Defense Research Institute, The International Association of Defense Counsel and California SuperLawyers.nbsp; Our trial attorneys have tried literally hundreds of cases to verdict, both simple and highly complex, in state and federal courts throughout the country.nbsp; We are able to provide our clients with a level of trial experience rarely found in most firms, regardless of size.
a href=http://www.lynberg.com/about-ushttp://www.lynberg.com/about-us/a |
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Estate Planning - Lifetime Planning
Legal Marketing News |
2010/09/03 07:17
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div class=contentpaneopenMarathon Legal LLC
Estate planning is a gift to yourself and to the people you love.nbsp; Even those of modest wealth should plan their estates, because modern estate planning means more than distributing property and avoiding taxes.nbsp; At its core, fine estate planning reaches beyond tax and distribution concerns by including written expressions of your values as they pertain to the relationships you have with other people and the wishes you have for your own care should self-care become impossible.nbsp; Fine estate planning minimizes family acrimony and mitigates the burden which poor planning transfers to the people you love when you pass away or become incapacitated.
As these comments suggest, estate planning can address a wide variety of concerns.nbsp; Although two estate plans are rarely identical, Wisconsin law has developed reliable ways to address most common concerns.nbsp; What follows are brief descriptions of the most common estate planning concerns and the corresponding legal mechanisms which are best designed to address them.
strongAvoiding Probate/strong
The length and cost of probate should be of special concern to Wisconsin residents with estates whose monetary value exceeds $50,000.nbsp; Avoiding these pitfalls of probate normally involves ensuring that one’s assets are properly titled and beneficiaries properly designated.nbsp; Sometimes trusts are the most practical way to save your family the expense and burden of probate.
strong
Providing for Minor Children/strong
Planning your estate affords you the opportunity to speak on behalf of your minor children should you pass away or become disabled.nbsp; Rather than having a court decide who will care for them, your estate plan allows you to name appropriate guardians of your choice.nbsp; Your plan can also address how you wish to provide for your children’s support.
strong
Incapacity Planning/strong
As life expectancies lengthen, planning for incapacity or disability becomes increasingly important.nbsp; Powers of attorney, advance directives, and other documented instructions enable the people you trust to manage your finances and healthcare when you cannot do these things for yourself.nbsp; These aspects of your plan minimize the time and hassle others may encounter when trying to act on your behalf.
strong
Minimizing Estate Taxes/strong
Large estates should be concerned about laws which tax the transfer of wealth from older to younger generations.nbsp; Fortunately, these laws also reward those who plan ahead.nbsp; With proper planning, it is not uncommon for large estates to save tens-of-thousands of dollars in estate taxes – far more than the cost of most well-drafted plans. /div |
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Marathon Legal LLC
Legal Marketing |
2010/09/01 07:17
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Marathon Legal LLC enhances the legal profession by delivering exceptionally honest, transparent, and thorough legal representation at a fair price to the residents and businesses of Wisconsin. The firm improves the quality of human relations by modeling relationships built on trust and by rendering sound legal advice which promotes enduring justice, fairness, and goodwill. Marathon Legal LLC connects busy people to the operation of law as seamlessly as modern markets and technology practically allow.
Marathon Legal LLC provides business law, estate planning, and family law services to all of Central Wisconsin, including Marathon County, Marshfield, Portage County, Schofield, Stevens Point, Wausau, Weston, Wisconsin Rapids and Wood County. |
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