Index (By Topic) For State of Estates

Updated periodically

How to Use This Index

Welcome to the topical index for State of Estates. This index organizes all articles by subject matter rather than chronologically, making it easier to find content on specific topics that interest you.

Navigation Tips

• Browse the Topic List below to find your area of interest

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Important Notes

• This index is updated periodically and may not reflect the most recent articles

• Specific citations of legal authority are not included in this index but will be added at a later date

• Last updated: March 2025

• For the most recent articles, please visit the main page

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Topic List

• Trust Types & Concepts

  • Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs)

  • Marital Trusts

  • Credit Shelter Trusts

  • Life Insurance Trusts

  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)

  • Grantor Trusts

  • Other Trust Types

  • Trust Administration & Accounting

  • Trust Funding & Division

  • Timing & Rule Against Perpetuities

• Powers and Rights in Trusts

  • Crummey Powers

  • Powers of Appointment

  • Trust Distribution Standards

  • No Contest Clauses

• Tax Topics

  • Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax

  • Gift Tax Topics

  • Estate Tax & Portability

  • Income Tax Topics

• Business Entities

  • C and S Corporations

  • Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)

  • Family Limited Partnerships

• Estate Planning Practice

  • Professional Responsibility

  • Estate Planning Documents & Drafting

  • Contests & Litigation

• Artificial Intelligence in Estate Planning

• Case Notes & Legal Analysis

• Charitable Planning

• Retirement Accounts

• Griff's Notes Series (Predecessor to Case Notes)

• Wealth 3.0

• Business Roundups & Weekly Reviews

• Podcasts & Media

• Friday Reading Club

• Miscellaneous Topics

Trust Types & Concepts

Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs)

• The SLAT Series, Part I: Estate Tax Credit Mechanisms

• The SLAT Series, Part II: Income Tax Status

• The SLAT Series, Part III: Issues with Grantor Trust Status

• The SLAT Series, Part IV: Forward-Looking Application of IRC Section 2036

• The SLAT Series, Part V: Grantor Trust Treatment of Beneficiary Spouse

• The SLAT Series, Part VI: Withdrawal Rights

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Marital Trusts

• What Are Marital Trusts?

• QTIP Trusts and Rights of Recovery: IRC Section 2207A

• Marital and Credit Shelter Trust Funding Formulas, Part 1

• Is a Marital Trust Termination a Gift?

• A QTIP for QTIP Trusts: Making Sure the Election is Correct

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Credit Shelter Trusts

• What is a Credit Shelter Trust?

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Life Insurance Trusts

• Introduction to ILITs

• How Are ILITs Used to Generate Estate Liquidity?

• Funding an ILIT; and 21 Common ILIT Errors

• The Grantor ILIT: What Should You Look For?

• Trust-Owned Life Insurance and IRC 2042: A Workaround?

• Case Notes: Life Insurance Agent’s Liability to Beneficiaries

• Griff's Notes, January 26, 2022: ILIT Trustee Fights Back

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Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)

• What is a GRAT?

• An Intro to Retained Interest Trusts

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Grantor Trusts

• Grantor Trusts: An Intro

• Grantor Trusts and State Income Tax

• Grantor Trusts and Substitution Powers, Part 1

• Grantor Trusts and Tax Reimbursement: A Big No-No?

• Grantor Trusts and Key Parties Under IRC Section 672

• Does My Grantor Trust Need an EIN?

• What is an Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT)?

• Grantor Trust Reform: What You Should Know

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Other Trust Types

• What is a BDIT?

• What Are Descendants’ Trusts?

• The Parking Lot Trust: Choose Your Own Adventure

• Non-Grantor Irrevocable Complex Discretionary Trusts: A New TikTok Darling

• Revocable versus Irrevocable Trusts: A High-Level Framework

• Resulting Trusts and No Contest Clauses: How Deep is the Rabbit Hole?

• Issues with Revocable Trusts: Powers of Appointment, Life Insurance, and More

• Griff's Notes, January 31, 2022 - Where To File IRS Form 706; CCA 202202011

• Griff's Notes: March 2, 2022 - Does an Unfunded Trust Really Exist?

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Trust Administration & Accounting

• Trust Accounting, Reverse Accounting, and Contingent Beneficiaries: Food for Thought

• Trust Accounting Language in Wills and Trusts: A New Area for Clarity?

• The Trustee's Duty to Inform and Report: Setting a Baseline

• Does Your Trustee Know They Are a Trustee?

• Griff's Notes: January 18, 2022 - Trustee Breaches and Cover-Ups: A Deadly Combination

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Trust Funding & Division

• Case Notes: Duty to Fund a Trust When Amending the Trust?

• How Are Trusts Divided for the Next Generation?

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding: Part 1

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 5: A Revocable Trust Alone is Not Enough

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 4: Intro to Revocable Trusts III

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 3: Minors as Beneficiaries

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 2: Estate Claims

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 6: Joint Versus Individual Revocable Trusts

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 10: Life Insurance

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 9: IRA Beneficiary Designation Strategies and Rules

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 7: Intro to Beneficiary Designations

• A “Better” Approach to Estate Plan Funding, Part 8: Survivorship Rights

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Timing & Rule Against Perpetuities

• Timing of Creating Trusts

• The Patchwork of Perpetuities Periods

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Powers and Rights in Trusts

Crummey Powers

• Crummey Notifications: Are They Required?

• Crummey Notifications: The Ultimate Guide to Form 709

• The Added “Work” of Crummey Power Accounting

• Hanging Crummey Powers: The Ultimate Guide to Form 709

• Incomplete Gift Crummey Powers: The Ultimate Guide to Form 709

• 2514(e) Crummey Powers: The Ultimate Guide to Form 709

• Five by Five Powers versus Crummey Withdrawal Rights: A Comparison

• Reader Questions: Crummey versus 5x5 Powers

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Powers of Appointment

• An Intro to Powers of Appointment

• Powers of Appointment and Powers of Withdrawal: Do They Overlap?

• Powers of Appointment and Disinheritance: A Vicious Combination

• More Foibles with Powers of Appointment

• Portability Podcast: Episode 2 - Powers of Appointment

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Trust Distribution Standards

• An Intro to Trustee Distribution Powers

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No Contest Clauses

• What is a No Contest Clause?

• Undue Influence and No Contest Clauses: A Bad Combination?

• No Contest Clauses: Food for Thought

• Resulting Trusts and No Contest Clauses: How Deep is the Rabbit Hole?

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Tax Topics

Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax

• Generation Skipping Transfer Tax

• Basics of Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax

• Basics of Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Part II

• Basics of Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Part III

• Basics of Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Part IV

• GST Tax Carve-Outs Not Found in the IRC

• Modification of GST Grandfathered Trusts

• IRS Form 706 GS(D)-1: An Often Forgotten Form

• AB Formulas and GST Tax: An Odd Combo

• Introducing a New Series: Basics of GST Tax

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Gift Tax Topics

• The Ultimate Guide to Form 709: An Intro

• Common Gift Tax Return Errors

• A Little-Known Gift Tax Exclusion

• Gifts to 529 Plans: The Ultimate Guide

• Basis Rules for Lifetime Gifts

• Gifts of Remainder Interests Under 2702

• 2025 Changes to IRS Form 709

• A New Twist on Gift Tax Valuations

• Is a Gift Really a Gift?

• Griff's Notes: January 10, 2022 - Gifts and Gift Tax Returns

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Estate Tax & Portability

• How Transfer Tax Exemptions Work

• 706 or 1041? Evaluating the 642(g) Election

• After the Portability Election: Must-Knows

• Elective 706 Filings: Portability

• Elective 706 Filings: The QTIP Election

• Elective 706 Filings: Allocation of GST Exemption

• Planning for the Sunset of the Basic Exclusion Amount

• End of an Estate Tax Inclusion Period

• The Proposed Clawback Regulations

• Tax Roundup: March 1-14, 2025

• Estate Planning 2024 Trends for Tax Attorneys

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Income Tax Topics

• Trust Look-Through Rules

• Income Tax Reporting Methods for Trusts

• Step-Up in Basis for Assets in a Trust

• The 663(b) Election

• The Intersection of IRC Section 642(c)

• Interest on Pecuniary Devises: Mountain or Molehill?

• Griff's Notes: January 13, 2022 - Inherited IRAs

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Business Entities

C and S Corporations

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part II

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part III

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part IV

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part V

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part VI

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part VII

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part VIII

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part IX

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part X

• C and S Corporations for Estate Planners Part XI

• C and S Corporations in Estate Planning

• C and S Corporations in Estate Planning Part II

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Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)

• A Gameplan for the Corporate Transparency Act

• Beware CTA, EIN, and other Phishing Scams

• The CTA Preliminary Injunction

• CTA Compliance After Texas "Top Cop" Case

• Ding Dong, Is the CTA Dead?

• Yet Another Article About the Corporate Transparency Act

• CTA Redux

• A Parody: Is It the End of the CTA?

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Family Limited Partnerships

• Can Family Limited Partnerships Still Be Useful?

• Family Limited Partnerships and IRC 2703

• Saving a Busted Family Partnership

• Investment Partnerships and Distributions

• Defining the Investment Partnership

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Estate Planning Practice

Professional Responsibility

• Who Do You Represent?

• The Drafting Attorney's Duties to Beneficiaries

• Don't Be a Lackadaisical Scrivener

• The End of Non-Competes As We Know Them?

• The Rise of the Wealth Strategist

• Better Estate Plan Drafting: Remote Execution

• Griff's Notes: January 18, 2022 - Trustee Breaches and Cover-Ups: A Deadly Combination

• Griff's Notes: January 20, 2022 - The Importance of Specific Questions

• Griff's Notes: January 24, 2022 - Terrors and Joys of Private Practice

• Griff's Notes: February 8, 2022 - It's Been a Year. So Let's Talk About Trust

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Estate Planning Documents & Drafting

• Trust Accounting Language in Wills and Trusts: A New Area for Clarity?

• Drafting for Mandatory Sales in Wills and Trusts

• Estate Plan Changes During Pending Divorce

• A Sampling of POD/TOD Issues

• Sale of Property Subject to Specific Devise

• The Die Tomorrow Plan versus the Wait and See Plan

• From the Archives: Don't Get Rid of Your Will

• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Powers of Attorney

• Griff's Notes: January 5, 2022 - POD and TOD Designations

• Griff's Notes: March 31, 2022 - Can One Party's Meaning Control?

• Griff's Notes: April 7, 2022 - Residuary Clauses for the Win

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Contests & Litigation

• Undue Influence and No Contest Clauses: A Bad Combination?

• Late-Filed Revocable Trust Contests

• A Tale of Two Cases: Connelly and Lasley

• Griff's Notes: February 10, 2022 - Arbitration Clauses

• Griff's Notes: March 9, 2022 - Out and About

• Griff's Notes: March 21, 2022 - Can a Trust Contest be Filed Late?

• Griff's Notes: March 29, 2022 - Pitfalls of Will Contests

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Artificial Intelligence in Estate Planning

• AI in Estate Planning: Document Generation

• AI in Estate Planning: Duties of Competence

• AI in Estate Planning: An Intro

• AI in Estate Planning: Reading the Document

• AI in Estate Planning: Proofreading

• AI in Estate Planning: All Questions Answered

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Case Notes & Legal Analysis

• Case Notes: Duty to Fund a Trust When Amending the Trust?

• Case Notes: Life Insurance Agent’s Liability to Beneficiaries

• A Tale of Two Cases: Connelly and Lasley

• From the Archives: Valuing Discretionary Trust Interests

• From the Archives: The IRC Section 6166 Mess

• Joint Tenancy and Tax Part I

• Joint Tenancy and Tax Part II

• Griff's Notes: Case Updates from Around the Country

• Griff's Notes: January 4, 2022 - Recent Cases

• Griff's Notes: January 11, 2022 - A Potpourri of Cases

• Griff's Notes: February 28, 2022

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Charitable Planning

• The Intersection of Charitable Remainder Trusts

• The Intersection of Charitable Remainder Trusts Part II

• The Intersection of Charitable Remainder Trusts Part III

• Griff's Notes: January 6, 2022 - Parent-Child Rollovers in IRAs

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Retirement Accounts

• IRA Beneficiary Designations & Division

• The New SECURE Act Regulations: A Deep Dive

• Griff's Notes: January 13, 2022 - Inherited IRAs

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Griff's Notes Series

• Griff's Notes: January 4, 2022 - Recent Cases

• Griff's Notes: January 5, 2022 - POD and TOD Designations

• Griff's Notes: January 6, 2022 - Parent-Child Rollovers in IRAs

• Griff's Notes: January 10, 2022 - Gifts and Gift Tax Returns

• Griff's Notes: January 11, 2022 - A Potpourri of Cases

• Griff's Notes: January 13, 2022 - Inherited IRAs

• Griff's Notes: January 18, 2022 - Trustee Breaches and Cover-Ups: A Deadly Combination

• Griff's Notes: January 20, 2022 - The Importance of Specific Question

• Griff's Notes: January 24, 2022 - Terrors and Joys of Private Practice

• Griff's Notes, January 26, 2022: ILIT Trustee Fights Back

• Griff's Notes: January 28, 2022 - Guest Post

• Griff's Notes, January 31, 2022 - Where To File IRS Form 706; CCA 202202011

• Griff's Notes: February 2, 2022 - Trust Decanting

• Griff's Notes: February 8, 2022 - It's Been a Year, So Let's Talk

• Griff's Notes: February 10, 2022 - Arbitration Clauses

• Griff's Notes: February 28, 2022

• Griff's Notes: March 2, 2022 - Does an Unfunded Trust Really Exist?

• Griff's Notes: March 9, 2022 - Out and About

• Griff's Notes: March 21, 2022 - Can a Trust Contest be Filed Late?

• Griff's Notes: March 29, 2022 - Pitfalls of Will Contests

• Griff's Notes: March 31, 2022 - Can One Party's Meaning Control?

• Griff's Notes: April 7, 2022 - Residuary Clauses for the Win

• Griff's Notes: April 14, 2022 - Keeping Clients Informed

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Wealth 3.0

• My Thoughts on Wealth 3.0: An Introduction

• The Wealth Wave and Trusts: A Short Story

• The Paradox of Choice and Trusts

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Business Roundups & Weekly Reviews

• Tax Roundup: March 1-14, 2025

• Estate Planning Business Update: January 2024

• Weeks in Review: July 4-19, 2024

• Mid-Year Review & Acknowledgements

• Weeks in Review: June 8-21, 2024

• Weeks in Review: May 25-June 7, 2024

• Weeks in Review: May 11-24, 2024

• Weeks in Review: April 27-May 10, 2024

• Weeks in Review: April 12-26, 2024

• April Office Hours and Weeks in Review: March 30-April 11, 2024

• Weeks in Review: March 16-29, 2024

• March Office Hours, Business, and Article Roundup

• Business and Article Roundup: Week of February 24, 2024

• Week in Review: February 23, 2024

• Article Summaries: Week Ending February 16, 2024

• Week in Review: July 6-9, 2021

• Griff's Business of Law Update: March 2022

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Podcasts & Media

• Portability Podcast: Introductory Installment

• Portability Podcast: Episode 2 - Powers of Appointment

• Portability Podcast: Advice for Associates

• Portability Podcast: Illustrating

• Portability Podcast Symposium Announcement

• Webinar: Why You Should Care About Portability

• Index of Griffin's YouTube Videos

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Friday Reading Club

• Friday Reading Club: Christopher Holtby Article

• Friday Reading Club: Dunbar's Number

• Friday Reading Club: How to Avoid Probate

• Friday Reading Club: The Inheritance Playbook by Chad Holmes

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Miscellaneous Topics

• Happy 2025 and Reader Survey

• Happy Holidays

• Giving Thanks for Ego

• Reader Update: October 2024

• Upcoming Office Hours: Jan 31-Feb 2, 2024

• List of Estate Tech (to be updated)

• Announcing the New Subscription Addition

• Coming Soon

• Why Today's Practitioner Should Care About GST Tax

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