Section Newsletters

Articles From Robert J. Kolasa

Drafting Trusts for Children After the SECURE Act By Robert J. Kolasa Trusts and Estates, August 2021 Clients now need to carefully weigh income taxes against asset protection concerns in structuring trusts holding retirement plan assets for children.
Creditor General Powers of Appointment: What Are the Tax Considerations if State Law Limits Appointive Property to the Underlying Debt for GPAs? By Robert J. Kolasa Trusts and Estates, November 2020 Basis optimization for credit shelter and irrevocable trusts often involves granting the trust beneficiary a general power of appointment over trust assets to achieve stepped-up basis.
Formula General Powers of Appointment to the Rescue By Robert J. Kolasa Trusts and Estates, June 2020 Because of the high exclusion, many credit shelter trusts won't save estate taxes, yet will undesirably deprive the family of stepped-up basis at the death of the surviving spouse. 
Stepped-up basis for credit shelter trusts using PEG powers under Illinois law By Robert J. Kolasa Trusts and Estates, April 2016 This article discusses how a surviving spouse may in some scenarios exercise a testamentary special pwer of appointment to create a new (i.e., appointive) trust for remainder CST beneficiaries.
Avoiding malpractice under the new estate tax portability rules By Robert J. Kolasa Trusts and Estates, July 2014 This article examines the estate tax portability rules and the sensitive filing deadlines which are needed to invoke its benefit.
George Steinbrenner’s estate tax homerun By Robert J. Kolasa Trusts and Estates, October 2010 Since Mr. Steinbrenner died in 2010 (a year in which there may be no federal estate taxes), his heirs pitched the proverbial perfect game and escaped with a zero estate tax bill.

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