2025

Attorneys Jason Sutton and Anthony Sutton will describe recurring trust litigation issues in South Dakota from the perspective of both fiduciaries and beneficiaries. By discussing frequently litigated issues, and the applicable law, attendees will be in a better position to both draft instruments and administer trusts in an effort to avoid litigation.

This session will examine estate planning strategies ahead of the sale of a business or other liquidity event. Topics include common valuation, cashflow, timing issues, and common sale & gift estate planning strategies including gift, estate, GST, and income tax implications. Trends in caselaw and IRS guidance related to these strategies will be analyzed.

Bill Boersma will discuss current trends in the Premium Finance market, highlighting the high demand for his consulting services among trustees, estate planning attorneys and family offices. He will also cover the burgeoning litigation related to premium financing and indexed universal life (IUL) policies, as well as insights into the Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) market, including recent political challenges and alternative income tax planning tools. Attendees can expect valuable case studies and key highlights to stay informed in the evolving life insurance landscape.

This session explores compliance strategies tailored to the unique needs of standalone trust companies. We will delve into effective transaction monitoring frameworks that operate independently of traditional banking systems, and introduce a practical, Excel-based Institutional AML/CTF Risk Assessment Matrix designed for immediate implementation.

Attend this informative program to receive a unique perspective on the origin and subsequent evolution of the South Dakota statutory regime together with a comparison of these laws with those enacted in other jurisdictions. The program will identify practical uses for asset protection trusts and practice recommendations for trustees and professional advisors.

Unique assets reside in many fiduciary accounts and Trustees often face challenges managing these complicated assets. Join this informative session to gain a better understanding of the compliance risks and regulatory requirements for unique assets and learn best practices to help Trustees properly manage this asset class when held in a fiduciary account.

International Tax Attorney Patrick W. Martin (Fellow of ACTEC and the American College of Tax Counsel) will provide current updates on international tax issues linked to foreign trusts. He will discuss important cases, PLR requests he has filed, and new Treasury regulations. He and Mr. Daniel C. Silva will discuss U.S. federal government activity in the area. Mr. Silva is an authority on Financial Crimes. During his decade at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Silva built a financial crimes task force that targeted international money laundering, all kinds of fraud (wire, securities, tax, and bank), anti-money laundering (“AML”) violations, and asset forfeiture matters. They co-authored, the article Fighting FATCA Tax Fraud Through Cross-Agency Enforcement, that focuses on how trusts are used and abused to commit tax, wire fraud and money laundering through U.S. financial institutions.

Attorney Stefan Szwarc will discuss specialized trust and wealth planning strategies to develop tailored client solutions.

Stay up to date with this informative and entertaining recap of the big cases, rulings, regulations, and (maybe even) legislation since last year’s Fall Forum in the area of federal income, estate, and gift taxes. Specific topics to be addressed will depend on recent developments but will likely include options for distributing assets from QTIP trusts and the special basis reporting rules applicable to trustees.

Jennifer Bunkers and Patrick Goetzinger will discuss recent South Dakota legislative and case law developments including a report on the work of the Governor’s Trust Task Force