2020/21 Estate Planning Resources for Individuals, Families and Professionals

Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel are committed to sharing their expertise with individuals, families, trust and estate lawyers, students and wealth management professionals. During 2020, Fellows took the initiative to develop valuable content related to estate planning and regulatory matters impacted by the pandemic. The following information provides resources from trust and estate professionals who offer recommendations to Congress, the IRS, and Department of Treasury.
2020/21 Estate Planning Resources for Individuals and Families

Estate Planning in the 2020 Election Year
How will the 2020 election affect estate planning, taxes and charitable giving? Learn what steps taxpayers may want to consider and how to plan for future legislation, changes in the estate gift tax exemption and charitable giving.

Getting Your Affairs in Order: Essential Legal Documents
What legal documents should you have in place to prepare for an emergency, such as the Coronavirus pandemic? Learn more about a Durable Power of Attorney (aka Financial Power of Attorney) and Advance Healthcare Directives (Healthcare Proxy, Living Will).

How the SECURE Act May Impact Your Retirement Plan
The SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement), enacted in December 2019, changes everything concerning estate planning with retirement benefits. Learn about the new IRA age distribution requirement, the impact to beneficiaries, changes to the "stretch" and individuals who are exempt from the limitation, and what it all means to individual retirement plans.

Estate Planning for a College Student or Young Adult
Your child becomes a legal adult when they turn 18 years old. During the current pandemic it is more important than ever to understand what legal documents, such as a Power of Attorney (POA) or health care proxy, you should have them sign before heading off to college and into the world.

2020/21 Estate Planning Resource for Professionals
2020/21 Emergency Remote Notarization and Witness Orders
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, ACTEC has created a quick reference list of states that have acted to allow remote notarization and witness orders on an emergency basis.


Ancillary Estate Planning Documents in the Pandemic
Recommendations are provided for T&E attorneys concerning which estate planning documents should be reviewed and what nuances to keep in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Estate Planning Strategies in the Pandemic
An estate planning expert explains strategies to be considered during the pandemic, including the gift tax annual exclusion, IRS Code 2503(e), low interest loans to family members, Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, Charitable Lead Trusts and more.

Legislative and Regulatory Comments by ACTEC
During 2020, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel has provided several technical comments to Congress, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of the Treasury regarding the SECURE Act, CARES Act, COVID-19 emergency and tax regulations this year.

Additional Resources

