A number of states seek to become popular with wealthy by passing laws more friendly to trusts.
The New York Times recent published the article “States Vie to Shield the Wealth of the 1 Percent,” which explains that some states are now competing with Delaware to become states with trust-friendly laws.
Delaware has long been known for having trust-friendly laws and now states such as Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee and New Hampshire have been passing more and more trust-friendly laws. States have made it easier to transfer trust assets and pass wealth on for generations while avoiding the estate tax completely. It is even possible in some states to protect trust assets from child support calculations.
This trend has caused some to worry that these states are creating a race to the bottom to attract trust business when there is no moral or ethical reason to pass the trust-friendly laws.
On the other hand, lawyers and accountants in these states see this as a positive development that gets money into their states. It is evidence that wealthy people should consider shopping around before deciding in which state to create their trusts.
Reference: New York Times (Aug. 8, 2016) “States Vie to Shield the Wealth of the 1 Percent”
