Morgan and DiSalvo, P.C., an award-winning estate planning firm, announced the launch of their new will and trust improvement service today in response to recent changes to both Federal tax law and Georgia trust law. On top of the significant Federal tax law changes that became effective in 2013 and 2018, there are now significant changes to the Georgia Trust Code that become effective on July 1, 2018, and the combination of these changes will have a significant impact on how individuals structure their estate plans, including their wills and trusts. As a result, this is an opportune time to rethink existing documents.

“Anyone that keeps up with estate and tax planning understands that it is subject to almost constant change,” says Richard Morgan, partner at Morgan and DiSalvo. “While most changes are modest, other changes, like these most recent ones, are significant and present us with the opportunity to make improvements in estate plans.”

Morgan and DiSalvo’s will and trust improvement service will provide a review of current documents, weighing them against the client’s desires and concerns as well as new options available under the law. The firm will then make recommendations on what, if anything, needs to be done to strengthen the estate plan. One of the notable changes to the law is around irrevocable trusts. There is now more flexibility to amend this component of many estate plans where there wasn’t any before. Other areas to focus on resulting from the new laws include wealth transfer taxes, income taxes, longer term trusts, and inter vivos QTIP marital trusts.

“The key takeaway is that there are more options to consider that may provide additional tax and non-tax benefits for estate plans,” says Loraine DiSalvo, partner at Morgan and DiSalvo. “If you are interested in significantly improving your estate plan, now is the time.”