Balancing conflicting goals is a great planning challenge when clients are in second marriages. For example, most clients want to both provide for the surviving spouse and protect an inheritance for children of a previous marriage. Personal residences, long-term care issues, and estate tax issues all require special consideration in this situation, whether the trust is an "All to Spouse" plan or a plan where assets are kept separate.

Market Changes Only Reason for Applying Estate Tax Alternate Valuation According to IRS Proposed Rule; IRS Issues Ruling that Grantor's Power to Substitute Other Assets for Trust Assets Does Not Require Trust Assets to be Included in Estate; Proposed Guidelines for Granting Extensions of Time for GST Exemptions Released by IRS; Applicable Federal Rates for May.

Creating Sample Sessions. The Samples tab across the top of the Session screen in Cowles Trust Plus® provides examples of various types of plans for reference, or to duplicate and edit as desired. Although the software makes custom drafting and selection of phrases and documents for each plan easy, saving samples preserves favorite plans and makes them easy to access when desired.