By 
We work hard to keep ElderDocx® up-to-date with federal and state law changes, as well as overall improvements to the capabilities of the program. We recently released an update that included a few big changes and we wanted to highlight them for you.
The accumulation trust provisions have been updated in light of the Secure Act regulations.
The Secure Act drastically changed how retirement account proceeds are paid out to beneficiaries after the plan participant’s death. But even after the Secure Act was finalized, there was a substantial amount of confusion regarding the new law. Practitioners tried their best to interpret the new law, but many of the best disagreed on what the law meant. In response, we made changes to the accumulation trust provisions in ElderDocx and made them flexible, allowing for multiple interpretations of the Secure Act.
Thankfully, the Internal Revenue Service issued regulations earlier this year that clarified most of the disputed topics of the Secure Act. In response, we have once again altered the accumulation trust provisions in ElderDocx. And rest assured that if further changes or clarifications come, via case law or further regs, we will stay on top of it to ensure you have the latest provisions compliant with the law.
>>> Retirement Account Planning with the EC Secure Supplemental Needs Trust™ <<<
If you want to get a good handle on the accumulation trust provisions – what they mean and why they are there – generate an annotated document and check out the numerous legal-technical footnotes therein. What is an annotated document? I’m glad you asked.
There is now an option for an annotated nonstatutory power of attorney.
Many of the documents in ElderDocx allow you to draft an annotated version of the document. This feature is available in the Standalone Will, Revocable Living Trust, Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, Medicaid Family Protection Trust, Veterans Asset Protection Trust, Secure Supplemental Needs Trust, Parental Protection Trust, and Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust. Now, this feature is also available in the nonstatutory power of attorney!
The first feature of an annotated document is that it will contain legal-technical footnotes explaining various provisions in the document. This information will help you better understand why a provision is included or what exactly it means. In addition, an annotated document will include a client summary box at the beginning of each article that explains in plain terms what that article means. This will help the client better understand the document.
Odds and Ends
In addition to the two major changes mentioned above, there were a few minor updates for clarity and style. This includes some state-specific updates, such as adding an interview warning that alerts Pennsylvania users to a potential transfer tax issue in the RLT when including certain provisions allowing for distributions during incapacity. We want our members’ documents to be up-to-date on all legal issues, both state and federal!
ElderDocx is a document creation system that lets ElderCounsel members quickly and efficiently draft trusts, wills, powers of attorney, client letters, and other ancillary documents for your clients. Request a demo today to see ElderDocx in action,
