Many years ago, when a client asked to amend his or her irrevocable trust, the answer was usually “no”. But there are now decanting statutes in 29 states that allow a trustee to distribute trust assets into a new irrevocable trust for the benefit of one or more beneficiaries of the current trust. This means that an irrevocable trust is no longer irrevocable! Because of its popularity, estate planners must be aware of how decanting works and where the opportunities lie. There are creditor and divorce protection opportunities, federal and state income tax savings opportunities and many opportunities to fix or enhance poorly-drafted trusts. Whether you’re an attorney, an accountant, a trust officer or a financial planner, you will benefit from this course as it gives you a step-by-step tutorial to maximize your opportunities to help your clients decant their irrevocable trusts.

In this course you will:

* Learn how decanting works, including who has the power to decant
* Get a step-by-step explanation of many of the differences among the different states that have decanting statutes
* Discover planning opportunities to protect trust assets from creditors using the decanting technique
* Find out different ways to decant trusts to save federal and state income taxes
* Learn why decanting is no longer simply about fixing an error in a trust agreement
* Explore what to do when there’s no decanting statute
* Hear about many popular decanting strategies to enhance or fix a trust

Your certificate will be awarded upon successful completion of the course requirements which include a video lecture that will be followed by a 5 question final exam.