James M. Kane has written frequently over the years about one of his favorite estate planning, tax, and asset-protection trusts: the intervivos qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) marital trust. In this presentation, James will discuss details about a wide range of drafting and design options. He will cover how the intervivos QTIP in many state jurisdictions allows the settlor spouse to retain, reducing section 2036 exposure, a secondary QTIP interest in the event the settlor survives the death of the beneficiary spouse, and how, as a result of favorable state statutes, the QTIP trust is potentially much stronger and more effective for asset protection purposes than, for example, a spousal lifetime access trust. The availability of using a full, partial, or no QTIP election upon creation of the QTIP trust, as well an election under certain circumstances at each spouse’s later death, help to provide virtually unbounded planning options. The design of a QTIP trust can also be well-grounded with the available, favorable QTIP case law and statutes (including QTIP regulations)—but as with most planning, requires careful and precise conformity with these laws. Otherwise, any planning, including a QTIP, can be disastrous.