Product Description

Recent updates:

• Update: October 2023

  Dear Subscriber:

  Thank you for updating your library with the latest version of A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Vermont. This newly revised publication brings updated resources within your immediate reach—for fast, accurate, and practical answers to your questions in this highly challenging area of practice.

  Highlights from the issues addressed in the 2023 edition include:

  • a 2023 Supreme Court of Vermont decision sanctioning a Vermont attorney for misconduct in his attorney-client relationship with a ninety-one-year-old client—failing, for example, to consider the client’s cognitive impairments and to adequately communicate with her and ascertain her wishes;

  • a 2022 Vermont Supreme Court decision suspending an attorney who drafted a will and deed for an elderly client that named himself as the beneficiary;

  • an expanded discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of lifetime gifts, including the tax implications of holding assets until death rather than gifting them;

  • updated dollar amounts for state and federal tax exclusions;

  • imputed gifts that may arise through the exercise of a lifetime power to appoint trust principal;

  • the gift tax reporting implications of transferring a life insurance policy to an irrevocable trust;

  • guidance on the filing of gift tax returns and payment of gift tax as well as on the filing of otherwise unnecessary federal estate tax returns where filing is required to elect portability;

  • the amount of estate tax exemption and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption allocable to a Crummey trust;

  • expanded eligibility under the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act beginning January 1, 2026;

  • the interplay between prenuptial agreements, long-term-care plans, and claims to marital assets by the state of Vermont;

  • enactment of the Vermont Uniform Power of Attorney Act, effective July 1, 2023; and

  • a 2021 Supreme Court of Vermont decision on the enforceability of stipulated marital agreements independent of a divorce action.

  We trust you will find this updated version of A Practical Guide to Estate Planning in Vermont an invaluable resource for your practice.

  Very truly yours,

  John M. Lawlor, Esq., MCLE Publications Attorney

Table of Contents

Chapter 01 expand

Ethical Considerations in Handling an Estate Plan and Engagement

Buy Chapter

Daphne Moritz, Esq., Sheehey Furlong & Behm, PC

Exhibit 1A

- Reminder Letter to Client Regarding Review of Estate Planning Documents Buy Form

Exhibit 1B

- Excerpt from “Representing Clients with Diminished Capacity,” by Constance V. Vecchione, Esq. Buy Form

Exhibit 1C

- Record of Services to Be Provided to Client Buy Form

Exhibit 1D

- Confidential Client Data Request Buy Form

Exhibit 1E

- Estate Planning Documents Flow Chart Buy Form

Exhibit 1F

- Estate Planning Summary Letter Buy Form

Exhibit 1G

- Execution Procedure for Durable Powers of Attorney and Living Wills Buy Form

Exhibit 1H

- Family Discussion Checklist Buy Form

Exhibit 1I

- Legal Fees and Billing—Information for Client Buy Form

Exhibit 1J

- Estate Planning Documents—Letter to Client Buy Form

Chapter 02 expand

Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes

Buy Chapter

Steven E. Schindler, Esq., Schindler Law Office, PLC

Chapter 03 expand

Fundamental Estate Planning

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Jeanne C. Blackmore, Esq., Trust Company of Vermont
Livia K. DeMarchis, Esq, Trust Company of Vermont

Exhibit 3A

- Sample Will Buy Form

Exhibit 3B

- Revocable Inter Vivos Trust Buy Form

Exhibit 3C

- Approval of Trust Agreement by Spouse Buy Form

Exhibit 3D

- Pour-Over Will Provision: Pour-Over Residue to Own Trust Buy Form

Chapter 04 expand

Marital Deduction Planning and Drafting Techniques

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Mark A. Langan, Esq., Dinse

Chapter 05 expand

Advance Directives and Powers of Attorney for Financial Matters

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Launa L. Slater, Esq., Wiener & Slater Law Offices PLLC

Exhibit 5A

- Vermont Ethics Network Advance Directive for Health Care (Long Form) Buy Form

Exhibit 5B

- Disability Rights Vermont Advance Directive Form Buy Form

Chapter 06 expand

Special Needs Planning

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James A. Caffry, Esq., Caffry & Keating PLLC
Glenn A. Jarrett, Esq., Jarrett & Luitjens PLC

Exhibit 6A

- Comparison of Three Social Security Programs Buy Form

Exhibit 6B

- Trust Provisions for Distribution Plans and Standards Buy Form

Exhibit 6C

- Examples of Permissible Distributions Buy Form

Exhibit 6D

- Self-Settled Special Needs Trust Requirement to Reimburse Medicaid (“Medicaid Payback” Provision) Buy Form

Exhibit 6E

- Vermont Pooled Trust Program as of August 2023 Buy Form

Exhibit 6F

- Sample Trust Protector Provisions to Plan for Unanticipated Changes in the Law or Circumstances Buy Form

Exhibit 6G

- Sample Preamble and Introductory Paragraphs Buy Form

Chapter 07 expand

Marital Agreements

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Juliana E. Hoyt, Esq., Jarrett Hoyt

Checklist 7.1

- Prenuptial Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Checklist 7.2

- Postnuptial Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Checklist 7.3

- Separation Agreement Checklist Buy Form

Chapter 08 expand

Vermont Trust Code

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Ellen B. LaPlante, Esq., Unsworth LaPlante PLLC
Stephen A. Unsworth, Esq., Unsworth LaPlante PLLC

Chapter 09 expand

The Uniform Principal and Income Act and the Unitrust Election

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Mark A. Langan, Esq., Dinse

Chapter 10 expand

Postmortem Estate Planning

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Hon. Jeffrey P. Kilgore,

Chapter 11 expand

Life Insurance and Estate Planning

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Aaron J. Goldberg, Esq.,

Exhibit 11A

- Supplemental Materials Buy Form

Exhibit 11B

- Information on Life Insurance Excerpted from the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation Website Buy Form

Exhibit 11C

- Disclosure Relating to Insurance in Engagement Letter Buy Form

Editor(s)

Author(s)