This session will review common tax-driven provisions found in trust agreements for income, gift, or estate tax reasons. The presenters will discuss how and why certain provisions are included, as well as tax traps to be aware of when drafting and funding trusts. Topics addressed in relation to the grantor will include retained interests and retained control causing incomplete gifts, deemed gifts under Chapter 14, and estate tax inclusion; tax planning in estate administration; and collateral income tax consequences. In addition, trustee and beneficiary powers that create gift, estate, or income tax exposure will also be addressed. 
 

The year 2026 brings significant changes to the charitable giving and planning landscape. This presentation will discuss what’s new and improved, the new limitations imposed on the charitable income tax deduction, and the new charitable giving traps for the unwary. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) imposes new limitations on the charitable income tax deduction. We will closely examine those limitations, including the impact of the increased cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions and the ramifications to nongrantor trusts and estates of OBBBA’s elimination of I.R.C. § 68(e). The new rules will be illustrated with case study examples of the restrictions on the charitable income tax for individuals, trusts, and estates. Finally, we will highlight several charitable giving strategies that are indirectly supercharged under today’s income tax laws.  

Learning objectives: 

• Understanding the new above-the-line charitable income tax deduction
• Understanding the new floor on charitable income tax deductions and its effect on charitable income tax deduction carry-forwards
• Understanding the new ceiling on charitable income tax deductions for taxpayers in the top tax bracket
• How the ceiling on charitable income tax deductions may apply to all existing and new nongrantor irrevocable trusts, including charitable lead trusts
• What mandatory language is needed in all irrevocable trusts to enable a charitable income tax deduction 
• Talking points for selected dynamic giving strategies for philanthropic clients in 2026
   

In a series of private letter rulings regarding the income tax treatment of the early termination of lifetime private trusts and charitable remainder trusts, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ignores the plain meaning of the uniform basis rules in I.R.C. § 1001(e) and creates a “fictional” sale of the income and unitrust interest. Thus, lead beneficiaries must report income as a result of the fictional sale, when all that occurred was the trust’s assets being divided among the trust’s beneficiaries. This session will evaluate the IRS’s application of I.R.C. § 1001(e)(1) to the treatment of the early termination of trusts and demonstrate how the fictional intermediary sale results in more taxable income reported than actual financial income. The session will discuss the underreporting of income abuse that existed before 1969 in cases where a private trust was terminated early and how the adoption of I.R.C. § 1001(e) in 1969 eliminated that abuse. The session will also explain how I.R.C. § 1001(e) should be interpreted so that double taxation of trust income is eliminated.

Learning objectives: 

• How income is reported by private trusts and charitable remainder trusts
• How the IRS applies the uniform basis rules under I.R.C. § 1001(e) to the early termination of private trusts and charitable remainder trusts
• How the IRS’s imposition of an intermediary sale artificially increases trust accounting income upon an early termination of both private trusts and charitable remainder trusts
• How the application of I.R.C. § 1001(e)(3) upon the early termination of a trust ensures that the same amount of income is reported as would be reported if the trust continued
   

Revocable living trusts are often divided into shares after the death of the grantor, or, in the case of joint trusts, after the death of each of the grantors. But sometimes things don’t go as smoothly as intended. What do you do when you discover that a trust was never properly administered upon the death of the first spouse? This session will focus on the problems that arise with the improper division and allocation (or lack thereof) of a revocable family trust after the first (and second) grantor’s death. Through case studies, the speaker will discuss the various tools available to practitioners for addressing problem allocations and explore options to mitigate damage and resolve disputes regarding allocation, transfer tax, income tax, and distribution for the remaining beneficiaries, including both judicial and nonjudicial options.