The new year (and new decade) is the perfect time to add meeting with an attorney to review your current estate plan to your list of “new year resolutions” for 2020; particularly, if your estate plan includes either a trust and/or deferrable retirement benefits. The new year / new decade will usher in significant changes to the laws impacting estate planning with trusts and retirement planning for Illinois residents.
At the state level, recent legislation (with a January 1, 2020 effective date) created the new Illinois Trust Code (ITC). The ITC applies not only to Illinois trusts created on, or after, January 1, 2020, it also applies to existing trusts which become irrevocable on, or after, January 1, 2020 and/or when there is a trustee change and a new trustee begins serving. Among other changes, the ITC adds specific, new requirements for Illinois trustees.
The other significant change occurred at the federal level, with the recent passage of the Secure Act. This new act substantially alters the existing law governing deferrable retirement accounts. Of particular note are the changes made to the “stretch” rules for inherited IRAs, as a result of the passage of the Secure Act.
If you have not already added reviewing your estate and retirement planning with your attorney and/or your tax advisor to your “to do” list for 2020, we strongly encourage you to add it to your list!