The 18th edition of The Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning provides the tools and techniques that every estate planner, financial planner, and insurance professional needs to help their clients preserve their assets under current law. It is completely updated and delivers numerous enhancements including new guidance on Data Gathering and Analysis; Death Tax Apportionment; Digital Assets, and much more.

Gain a practical, working knowledge of estate planning to give your clients the best financial security. Master resourceful estate planning including acquisition, preservation, and distribution to accomplish your client's tax and non-tax objectives.

Tools and Techniques of Estate Planning covers all aspects of estate planning, from behavioral and ethical issues to estate and gift tax planning, to planning for nontraditional couples and the risk of health issues for aging clients. With topics that are applicable for both large and small estates, this title enables estate planners to: Help clients plan every aspect of their estate, including tax, investment, insurance, and estate administration decisions; Help clients effectively preserve their assets under current law; Handle a wide variety of estates and specific circumstances; and save significant amounts of time with exclusive estate planning tools. This book features easy-to-understand, real-world examples from expert authors on which techniques are best suited for a wide variety of circumstances, and equally important advice on how to avoid future problems. New in the 21st Edition: Thoroughly updated including the latest Secure Act 2.0 changes and five new chapters. SECURE Act 2.0 Proposed Regulations and Secure 2.0 Act changes, such as the new required minimum distribution ages Employee Stock Ownership Plan changes when RMDs must be paid out after the death of the account holder proposed regulations interpreting the 10 year rule differently when decedent dies before reaching the required beginning date versus after o starting in 2024, additional incentives if the trust is a conduit trust for a surviving spouse starting in 2024, how Roth employer plans won't be subject to mandatory distributions during their lifetime how SECURE Act 2.0 encourages expansion of vesting, eligibility and establishment of qualified retirement plans o a provision that incentivizes small employers to make military spouses eligible for plan participation and matching sooner than they would otherwise have to A new chapter 32, Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT), including the advantages and disadvantages and potential uses A new chapter 35, Beneficiary Deemed Owner Trusts, explaining the advantages of a BDOT, including how they allow the shifting of the income tax burden to the powerholder without having to make a distribution A new chapter 44, Using Formula Powers of Appointment/Optimal Basis Increase Trusts (OBITs), discussing how it can be used to avoid a step down in basis and an increase in estate or GST tax A new chapter 60, Planning with Roth Retirement Accounts, which explains the two key advantages of Roth IRAs over traditional IRAs, as well as the impact of conversions on the beneficiary designation and estate plan and how trusts for the two types of plans may be drafted differently A new chapter 66, Community Property Trusts, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of creating these trusts A fully revised chapter on Planning with S Corporations, including recent IRS taxpayer-friendly guidance on inadvertent S corporation terminations with simplified procedures An update on state laws, including the states that have adopted the Revised Uniform Limited Liability Company Act and states that still have inheritance and/or estate taxes, as well as states that now permit "legal suicide" Revisions to the chapter on planning opportunities for family members are not U.S. citizens, including a list of countries that have estate or gift tax treaties with the United States Topics Covered: Overview of estate planning, including ethical and malpractice issues Ownership and transfer of property, including Uniform Transfer to Minors Act, power of appointment, wills and probate Estate taxes, gift taxes and generation-skipping transfer tax Trusts including grantor retained interest trusts, QTIP trusts and marital deduction trusts Life insurance, including life insurance trusts Business transfers such as split interest purchase of property, buy-sell business agreements, limited liability companies and S corporations Retirement issues such as pension plans, 401k plans, individual retirement plans and SEPs Planning for aging and health care challenges, including health care documents and issues related to blended families Valuations of assets, including digital assets, as well as issues related to non-U.S. persons As with all of the resources in the highly acclaimed Leimberg Library, every area covered in this book is accompanied by the tools, techniques, practice tips, and examples you can use to help your clients successfully navigate the complex course of estate planning and confidently meet their needs.