MI Specific

Trusts, Estates & Probate

4.47

Trusts in Michigan From A to Z

Credits Available

There is no credit available on this course.
OnDemand
6 hours 40 minutes
Valerie Kutz-Otway
Rachael Roseman
Kara Hoorn
Richard Mills
Salvatore LaMendola
Rachael Klein
With Valerie A. Kutz-Otway from Chalgian & Tripp Law Office PLLC + 5 others
Recorded June 10, 2025
Product ID 100115

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Overview

The Ultimate Pros and Cons Guide to Top Wealth Planning Techniques

Planning your clients' financial future and legacy is diverse and complex, with a unique tool for every unique client situation. In this fast-paced comprehensive program, our faculty will guide you through the plethora of trust options and give you a straightforward, incisive analysis of when and how each can be used for maximum effect. Explore the goals, functions, administration hurdles, and tax implications of the top trusts in the practice. Choose the best tool for the job every time - register today!

  • Weigh all the pros and cons to select the best trust options for specific client situations.
  • Anticipate tax consequences of various trusts.
  • Use sample trust language our faculty provide to save drafting time and avoid mistakes.
  • Clarify the powers and duties of trustees in different trusts.
  • Compare living and testamentary trusts for straightforward estate planning.
  • Distinguish between accounting and taxable income and learn how trust income tax is reported.
  • Understand how recent tax laws changed the practice of marital trusts and learn when they are still useful.
  • Review common ethical missteps that can cost you your license - and how to avoid them.

Abbreviated Agenda

  1. What are Trusts? Main Trust Principles
  2. Simple Testamentary Trusts and Revocable Living Trusts
  3. Tax Reduction with Trusts
  4. Grantor Trusts
  5. Marital Trusts in a Nutshell
  6. Other Trust Structures and Issues
  7. Generation Skipping/Dynasty Trusts
  8. Charitable Trusts
  9. Special Needs Trusts (SNTs)
  10. Legal Ethics

Related Topics

Product ID 100115

Credit Details

Credits Available

There is no credit available on this course.
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Agenda

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  1. What are Trusts? Main Trust Principles

    1. Trust Terms, Concepts, and Definitions
    2. Key Parties in a Trust and Their Roles
    3. The Laws of Trust Creation and Administration (UTC, UPA, UPIA, etc.)
    4. Trust Revocability and its Implications
    5. Trust Funding Basics
    6. Creditor Rights in Regards to Trusts
    7. Does the Client Need a Trust?

  2. Simple Testamentary Trusts and Revocable Living Trusts

    1. When are Testamentary Trusts Used?
    2. Living vs. Testamentary Trusts for Tax Purposes
    3. Trust Funding Mistakes and Consequences
    4. Top Trust Administration Issues
    5. Sample Trust Language

  3. Tax Reduction with Trusts

    1. Current State and Federal Tax Regime
    2. Taxation of Trusts: Transfer and Income
    3. Accounting vs. Taxable Income
    4. Tax Consequences of Distributions
    5. Tax Implications of a Trust Becoming Irrevocable
    6. Accumulation Distribution for Some Complex Trusts
    7. Material Participation by Trusts
    8. Tax Consequences of Trusts in Estate Administration

  4. Grantor Trusts

    1. Types of Grantor Trusts and When They are Used
    2. Grantor Trust Status and Reporting
    3. Tax Planning, Requirements, and Consequences
    4. Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
    5. Sample Trust Language

  5. Marital Trusts in a Nutshell

    1. When are Marital Trusts Used?
    2. Old AB/Credit Shelter Trusts After ATRA and Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
    3. Tax Planning, Requirements, and Consequences
    4. Trustee Powers, Duties, and Challenges
    5. Underfunded Trusts After First Death
    6. QDOTs for Noncitizen Spouses
    7. Exceptions to the Rules
    8. Handling Dysfunctional Client Families
    9. Sample Trust Language

  6. Other Trust Structures and Issues

    1. Minors' Trusts
    2. IRA Trusts
    3. Pet Trusts
    4. Medicaid Trusts
    5. Asset Protection Trusts
    6. Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
    7. Incomplete Non-Grantor Trusts
    8. Gun Trusts
    9. Trust Decanting, Modification, and Dissolution
    10. Smaller Estate Trusts
    11. Constructive Trusts

  7. Generation Skipping/Dynasty Trusts

    1. GST Tax and Other Tax Considerations
    2. When are Dynasty Trusts Used?
    3. Trustee Powers and Duties and Administration Challenges
    4. Exceptions to the Rules
    5. Sample Trust Language

  8. Charitable Trusts

    1. When are Charitable Trusts Used?
    2. CRTs vs. CLTs
    3. Tax Planning, Requirements, and Consequences
    4. Trustee Powers and Duties and Administration Issues
    5. Exceptions to the Rules
    6. Charitable Planning in Smaller Estates
    7. Sample Trust Language

  9. Special Needs Trusts (SNTs)

    1. When are SNTs Used? (SNTs vs. ABLE Act Accounts)
    2. Types of SNTs
    3. Tax Consequences of SNTs
    4. Preserving Benefits Eligibility
    5. Trustee Powers and Duties (What Can the Distributions be Used for?)
    6. Sample Trust Language

  10. Legal Ethics

    1. Who Is Your Client? The Most Important Question in Trusts Practice
    2. Top Legal Malpractice Risks
    3. Testator Capacity Issues
    4. Dealing with Trust Beneficiaries
    5. Protecting Confidentiality
    6. Preventing Fiduciary Misconduct

Who Should Attend

This basic level online seminar is designed for the professionals involved in creating and administering trusts:

  • Attorneys
  • Accountants and CPAs
  • Trust Officers
  • Tax Managers
  • Wealth Managers

Speakers

Valerie A Kutz-Otway
Valerie A.
Kutz-Otway
Chalgian & Tripp Law Office PLLC
Rachael W Roseman
Rachael W.
Roseman
Bodman PLC
Kara L Hoorn
Kara L.
Hoorn
Miller Canfield
Richard C Mills
Richard C.
Mills
Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge
Salvatore J LaMendola
Salvatore J.
LaMendola
Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C.
Rachael K Klein
Rachael K.
Klein
Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Speaker bio
Valerie A Kutz-Otway

Valerie A. Kutz-Otway

Chalgian & Tripp Law Office PLLC
Valerie Kutz-Otway

is an attorney at Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, PLLC, in Saginaw, Michigan. She attended Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she graduated cum laude. Attorney Kutz-Otway has over a decade of legal experience and focuses her practice in the areas of probate litigation and estate planning, with a special emphasis on assisting persons with disabilities or mental illness. She is the inclusion and lawyer development director for Chalgian & Tripp Law Offices, PLLC, where she previously served as its managing attorney. Attorney Kutz-Otway is licensed to practice in the State of Michigan, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States Bankruptcy Court, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims, and the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the Probate and Estate Planning, Elder Law and Disability Rights, and Military and Veterans' Law sections of the State Bar of Michigan. She serves as President of the NAELA Michigan Chapter board and as Secretary of the WLAM Great Lakes Bay Region board. She formerly served on the board of directors for the Saginaw County Bar Association and was the longtime chair of its Pro Bono Committee. In addition, Attorney Kutz-Otway serves on the board of directors for HIS Restoration Ministries, an organization that provides shelter and counseling for homeless expectant mothers. Attorney Kutz-Otway was selected as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyer Magazine in 2019 and 2020, and as an Influential Woman of Law by Michigan Lawyers' Weekly in 2024. Committed to continuing legal education, she regularly speaks on the topics of guardianships and conservatorships; she is a Co-Editor of ICLE's Michigan Guardianship and Conservatorship Handbook and authors the Guardianships of Developmentally Disabled Persons Chapter therein. She is a dedicated advocate on behalf of her clients, consistently providing the highest quality of representation. During her tenured career, Attorney Kutz-Otway has litigated noteworthy cases, which set precedent in both the Michigan Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals.

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Speaker bio
Rachael W Roseman

Rachael W. Roseman

Bodman PLC
Rachael Roseman

is an attorney in the Grand Rapids office of Bodman PLC. She represents clients in a variety of litigation matters, primarily focused on probate and commercial disputes. Ms. Roseman has successfully represented clients through all types of probate proceedings, disputes, and litigation matters, including guardianships, conservatorships, limited guardianships, and probate and trust disputes. She counsels and represents both individuals and entities in probate court. Ms. Roseman also has extensive experience in conducting comprehensive analyses of complex legal issues. She has counseled numerous clients in commercial disputes and assisted them through every stage of the litigation process, including strategy, discovery, settlement negotiations, and trial. Ms. Roseman earned her B.S. degree from Grand Valley State University and her J.D. degree from Michigan State University College of Law. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan.

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Speaker bio
Kara L Hoorn

Kara L. Hoorn

Miller Canfield
Kara Hoorn

is a senior attorney at Miller Canfield, whose practice focuses on assisting clients with estate and gift tax planning, charitable donations, creation and administration of trusts, business succession, estate settlement, guardianship and conservatorship matters and prenuptial agreements. Regardless of the life stage a client is in, her goal is to help her clients identify their objectives and develop and implement plans to achieve them, both in the short and long term. Ms. Hoorn's practice also includes corporate law and for several years she ran a home health care business. She has intimate knowledge of the unique needs the aging population faces and the necessity of having the appropriate documentation in place before the unthinkable occurs. As a prior small business owner, Ms. Hoorn understands that a client's business means much more than what is reflected on the balance sheet. She actively listens to each client’s personal concerns and develops an individualized succession plan. Ms. Hoorn earned her B.A. degree from Kalamazoo College and her J.D. degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. She is admitted to practice in the state of Michigan. 

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Speaker bio
Richard C Mills

Richard C. Mills

Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge
Richard Mills

is an experienced attorney who specializes in estate planning, trust and estate administration, and charitable giving. For more than 15 years, he has helped families, businesses, and charitable foundations establish legally and financially secure futures. As a leader of the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Mr. Mills helped draft Michigan's trust decanting, self-settled asset protection trust, and divided and directed trusteeship legislation. As an American Bar Association leader, he's helped draft comments to the U.S. Treasury Department on proposed regulations related to donor-advised funds and met with its Office of Tax Policy to discuss important issues on behalf of charitable planning attorneys and their clients. Mr. Mills earned his undergrad from Aquinas College, his M.B.A. degree from The University of Detroit Mercy and his J.D. degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He is admitted to practice in the state of Michigan.

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Speaker bio
Salvatore J LaMendola

Salvatore J. LaMendola

Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C.
Salvatore LaMendola

is a member of the Trusts and Estates Practice Group of Giarmarco, Mullins, and Horton, P.C. He specializes in estate planning for retirement plan benefits and in charitable planning. Mr. LaMendola has written extensively on these topics in his firm's monthly and quarterly newsletters, of which he is the editor and assistant editor, respectively. In addition to writing, he speaks publicly on his specialty areas. Past audiences have included the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), and Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP). Mr. LaMendola also conducts private continuing education seminars for life insurance and financial planning professionals. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting, summa cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame in 1990, his license to practice public accountancy from the State of Maryland in 1992, and his J.D. degree from the Notre Dame Law School in 1994. Mr. LaMendola has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan since 1994 and of his present law firm since 1996.

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Speaker bio
Rachael K Klein

Rachael K. Klein

Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC
Rachael Klein

is a member of the trusts and estate practice group in the firm of Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC. Based in Grand Rapids, she dedicates herself to solving problems and providing peace of mind for her clients. Ms. Klein's experience includes, preparing estate plans, supervising estate and trust administration, drafting complaints, petitions, and motions for probate litigation cases. She grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and attended Calvin College, where she majored in English, and Religion and Theology. Ms. Klein graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, completing her legal master's degree in taxation and estate planning at Boston University School of Law. She is admitted to practice in Michigan and New York.

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Are multiple attendee discounts available?
Yes, the more people you bring from your organization, the more you save. After the first registration, each additional attendee receives a special discount off of their total tuition.
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The OnDemand Video will be available to stream within 14 days of live broadcast date. You will have access to the content for 6 months in your account. If you’re a subscriber, you’ll have access to your course recordings until 7 days after the expiration date of the subscription.
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When you enroll prior to the live event date you will receive access to the live-streaming webinar which will allow you to interact with faculty in real-time. With each course, you will receive access to the content via OnDemand Streaming and the Video Download. Course reference materials are included with each course purchase in a downloadable PDF format.
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While only paid registrants can receive continuing education credit for attending, there are no limitations to the number of viewers at each connection.

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