History and Importance of Health, Education, Maintenance and Support (HEMS) (Completed)

Health, education, maintenance and support—frequently referred to by practitioners as HEMS—are for words strewn throughout estate planning documents. But what’s so special about these four words? In this course you will learn how these four words became the gold standard in estate planning and how the deviation from these words can create both income and estate tax issues for beneficiaries as well as exposure to creditors; including former spouses. The course will also identify instances where deviation is permissible and possible alternatives.

Who Should Attend
Attorneys, CPAs, and Enrolled Agents.

Topics Covered

• History of the terms Health, Education, Maintenance, and Support in estate planning documents
• Grantor trust rules for income tax purposes as they relate to HEMS
• Estate tax rules related to limiting beneficiary access to HEMS
• Creditor exposure when practitioners stray from using the HEMS standard
• Alternative drafting language permissible in certain instances

Learning Objectives

• Describe the history and importance of the HEMS terminology
• Recognize how to advise clients on consequences of straying away from the HEMS standard in estate planning documents
• Analyze the possible tax and creditor exposure for beneficiaries of trusts that use the HEMS standard compared to those that do not
• Identify the importance of utilizing the HEMS standard when the beneficiary serves as the trustee or anticipates creditor issues

Level
Basic

Instructional Method
Group: Internet-based

NASBA Field of Study
Taxes (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
None

Advance Preparation
None