About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will guide estate planners and advisers on the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0's impact on estate planning and administration. The speaker will discuss current regulatory and tax rules stemming from the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 and challenges for retirement benefits, trusts, and distributions. The speaker will also provide effective estate and tax planning techniques in light of these rules.
Description
The SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 contain several provisions that significantly changed the planning and administration of estates and trusts. Estate planners, advisers, and attorneys must recognize the impact of the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 and understand IRS interpretations, requirements, and pitfalls to avoid.
The SECURE Act includes substantial changes to how IRAs and qualified plans impact estate planning for retirement benefits. It raised the age for required minimum distributions from age 70½ to age 72, which also applies to qualified plans, and eliminates the age limit for contributions to IRAs. It also eliminates the "stretch" distributions from IRAs and qualified plans with limited exceptions. Under the law, beneficiaries must withdraw assets from an inherited account within 10 years of the owner's death, requiring careful planning to avoid unintended tax liability.
If a retirement plan participant doesn't want to leave benefits outright to a beneficiary, the participant must designate a trust as the beneficiary. For a trust to qualify as a designated beneficiary, it needs to be a "see-through trust" that is either a "conduit trust" or an "accumulation trust." Under the SECURE Act, there is an acceleration of distributions to beneficiaries and a potential increase in taxes.
SECURE 2.0 provides key modifications and further expands the previous regulations, including but not limited to plan contributions, distributions, ROTH IRA rules, and other key items impacting estate and tax planning.
Listen as our speaker discusses the SECURE Act's and SECURE 2.0's key provisions and how they impact the planning and administration of estates and trusts, as well as offers best practices for attorneys and advisers.
Presented By
Mr. LaMendola has been a member of the Trusts and Estates Practice Group at Giarmarco, Mullins and Horton, P.C. since 1996. He received his J.D. from the Notre Dame Law School and holds a B.B.A. from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. LaMendola's main practice areas are general estate planning; amending irrevocable trusts through trust decanting, exercises of power of appointment, and other techniques; pre-death and post-death planning for IRAs and other retirement plans; and charitable planning with charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and private foundations. He is a member of the Probate & Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan. Mr. LaMendola is also a regular continuing education presenter for legal education webinar providers Rossdale of Miami, FL and Strafford of Dallas, TX. He also serves on Strafford’s Estate Planning Advisory Board for Strafford and on the InterActive Legal Practice Advisory Board.
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
-
Date + Time
- event
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0: key provisions and remaining issues
II. Critical estate planning considerations and challenges
III. Challenges for trusts: conduit vs. accumulation trusts
IV. Key modifications to consider for estates and trusts
V. Other key items and best practices for estates and trust administration
The speaker will review these and other essential items:
- What should estate planners know about the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0?
- What are the unresolved issues of the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 for estates and trusts?
- What are estate and trust planning techniques available under the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0?
Related Courses
Estate Planning and the SECURE and SECURE 2.0: Critical Considerations for Estate Planners and Administrators
Tuesday, June 23, 2026
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
