Julius H. Giarmarco

Chair of the Trusts & Estates Practice Group
Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton, P.C.
Troy, Michigan

Julius H. Giarmarco, J.D., LL.M., is chair of Giarmarco, Mullins & Horton’s Trusts and Estates Practice Group in Troy, Michigan. Julius received his law degree from Wayne State University, and his master of laws from New York University. He is licensed to practice law in both Michigan and New York. Julius’ primary practice areas include estate planning, business succession planning, wealth transfer planning, and life insurance applications. He is a former instructor in both the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) programs.

Julius can be contacted by email or by phone at (248) 457-7200.

 

Content by Julius H. Giarmarco

Life Insurance as a Separate Asset Class

Due to the tax favored treatment of life insurance, it can be a powerful tool for high-income earners and high-net-worth individuals – even if they do not have taxable estates.

  • 02/17/2016
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Keeping Track of Tax Basis

Why you should consider providing in wills or trusts a provision requiring the fiduciary to provide tax basis information to the beneficiaries to the extent available.

  • 01/07/2016
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Exercising Substitution Powers

Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs) typically give the grantor the power to substitute assets of equivalent value, exercisable in a non-fiduciary capacity. This is commonly referred to as a “swap” power.

  • 12/17/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Family Businesses Weak in Succession Planning

Just slightly more than 33% of the family businesses surveyed have an appointed successor, and only 27% have a documented succession plan for senior roles.

  • 12/09/2015
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  • Privately-Held Businesses
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  • Article

Don't Forget to Include Powers of Appointment in Trust Agreements

A beneficiary can be given the power to “rewrite” a trust to direct the ultimate distribution of his or her trust share. If this power is not exercised, the trust property will pass according to the terms of...

  • 11/30/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Income Tax Planning for Trust Distributions

For newly-drafted trust agreements, the scrivener must consider whether the document will provide the trustee the flexibility needed to distribute capital gains to minimize income taxes.

  • 11/19/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Combining an IRA Trust and an ILIT

Many IRA owners wish to ensure that, during the life of their surviving spouse, the surviving spouse receives the income from the IRA, but that at the surviving spouse’s death, the balance in the IRA will pass according...

  • 11/13/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Avoid Mandatory Trusts

With a “mandatory trust”, a beneficiary’s creditors can take the place of the beneficiary until a debt is satisfied.

  • 11/04/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

New Law Requires Consistency of Basis

A new law effective after July 31, 2015 requires that the income tax basis of property acquired from a decedent cannot exceed the value reported on the estate tax return.

  • 10/28/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Trust Protectors

A trust protector is a third party (not the grantor, trustee or beneficiary) who is given the power in the trust agreement to make changes to the trust agreement in order to carry out the grantor’s intent.

  • 10/20/2015
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Long-Term Care Riders Inside an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

In recent years, some insurers have begun to offer long term care (LTC) coverage in the form of riders to life insurance policies. These riders are often referred to as "Living Benefit" or "Living Needs" riders.

  • 10/29/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Beneficiary Defective Irrevocable Trusts

The benefits of an intentionally defective grantor trust (“IDGT”) are well known. Now turn the tables and consider the implications of a beneficiary defective irrevocable trust.

  • 10/08/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Beneficiary-Controlled Trusts

Estate planners use trusts to protect beneficiaries from their inability, their disability, their creditors and their predators. Included under "creditors" are the IRS and divorced spouses.

  • 09/02/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

The Top 10 Uses of Life Insurance in a Family Business Succession Plan

It is important to examine how life insurance plays an essential role in the typical family business succession plan.

  • 08/05/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Keeping the Family Business in the Family

Most often a business owner’s objectives are to transfer the business to their active children with minimum transfer tax consequences, treat both the active and inactive children fairly (if not equally), and maintain a stream of income from...

  • 06/11/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

Gifting of LLC or FLP Interests to Family Members

Recently, the IRS has been successful in using the indirect gift theory and the step-transaction doctrine to disallow valuation discounts in connection with gifts of Limited Liability Company and Family Limited Partnership interests.

  • 05/24/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article

“Switching” Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)

As the name indicates, an irrevocable life insurance trust is irrevocable and its terms cannot be amended after it is created. The irrevocability of an ILIT can create problems for grantors and their attorneys alike.  

  • 05/19/2010
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  • Estate Planning
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  • Article
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