Divorce and Trusts: Dissolving or Amending Existing Trusts and Using New Trusts in Divorce Planning

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Family Law
- event Date
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will discuss what family lawyers need to know to evaluate existing trusts that their client or a divorcing couple have. The panel will explain how to identify changes that should be made to trusts due to dissolution of the marriage and how family lawyers can use or create trusts to address assets and money payments.
Faculty

Mr. Cayne is a Partner of GHSK, leader of GHSK's New York office and the head of its Domestic Tax, Trusts & Estates practice. He concentrates his practice in estate and tax planning for individuals and familes, taxation matters, and the administration of estates and trusts. Mr. Cayne works closely with clients to design and implement strategies to protect assets and transfer wealth tax efficiently while acheiving a client's personal goals. He believes in providing personalized advice on all matters of trusts and esates and works closely with clients’ accountants, financial advisors and other team members to find creative, appropriate and tailored solutions for each client. With his past experiences in public accounting, Mr. Cayne has the knowledge to meet a wide range of estate and tax planning objectives. He also advises clients on cross-border planning and matters involving international tax law. Mr. Cayne regularly practices in the New York State and New Jersey Surrogate's Courts. His practice encompasses all aspects of trust and estate administration including various uncontested and contested Surrogate's Court proceedings, collection and transfer of assets, post-mortem tax planning, the preparation of estate tax returns, fiduciary income tax returns and fiduciary accountings. Mr. Cayne frequently presents at various forums discussing all facets of estate and tax planning and estate and trust administration.

Mr. Goldstein is a Partner of GHSK and the head of its Matrimonial & Family Law practice. His practice embraces a diverse set of clients and the challenging issues they face. Mr. Goldstein understands the situations many of our family law clients are enduring can be arduous, delicate, and emotional. He approaches each client’s matter with knowledge, compassion, and understanding. Mr. Goldstein collaborates with clients to determine their desired outcomes and develop creative strategies to achieve them. He was named a Rising Star by Super Lawyers each year since 2020 and earned the recognition of the Top 10 Attorneys under 40 by the National Academy of Family Law Attorneys in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Mr. Goldstein frequently presents at various forums discussing divorce and considerations involved such as financial issues and LGBT+ issues. He has also been quoted in articles by various media outlets such as USA Today.
Description
Most trusts will require some changes or amendments due to dissolution of a marriage because each party will likely have different plans regarding the distribution of assets and disposal of each estate.
Family law attorneys must be sufficiently conversant with trusts to remove a former spouse as a fiduciary, update documents to reflect the client's new situation, and identify other potential pitfalls inherent in trusts post-divorce. Neglecting to consider trusts when negotiating a property settlement can result in unintended consequences, particularly tax liabilities.
Trusts can also be created during the divorce process to reflect changed circumstances. Support trusts may be preferable to periodic alimony payments, especially if there will be little contact between the spouses post-divorce.
Clients may need trusts for estate planning to provide funds for children and other heirs. Irrevocable grantor retained annuity trusts can accomplish that goal while reducing tax liability. A qualified domestic trust is a beneficial vehicle for gifts and inheritances to non-citizen spouses.
Listen as our authoritative panel of attorneys provides the knowledge of trusts that family lawyers need to know when advising clients on existing trusts and changes needed due to the divorce. The panel will also discuss the use or creation of trusts during the divorce proceeding to address assets and monetary payments after the divorce is finalized.
Outline
- Overview of trust law for family counsel
- Dealing with existing trusts
- Issues that impact property division settlement
- Revocable vs. irrevocable trusts
- Commonly overlooked pitfalls
- Creating trusts during divorce proceedings
- Support trusts
- New trusts for estate planning purposes
- Trusts for children and heirs
- Qualified domestic trusts
- Other trusts
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are some of the common pitfalls that trusts present post-divorce?
- When may a support trust be preferable to periodic alimony payments?
- What common trust vehicles may need to be created for estate planning purposes after the dissolution of the marriage?
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