Conference
Trust Course Part 1 – Basic Characteristics & Elements of Trusts – Frequently Asked Questions
This course is part of the Las Vegas, NV – December 2025 Conference. Click the link below to view the conference page.
$399.00
Availability: 93 in stock
Webcasts are available for viewing Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm ET,
and Saturday & Sunday, 10am – 6pm ET.
Without FlexCast, you must start with enough time to finish. (1 Hr/Credit)
Secure Transaction CPE Credits
2 Credits: Taxes
Event Date: December 10, 2025 7:30 am
Course Level
Overview
Format
Conference
Course Description
This foundational course provides a comprehensive introduction to the core principles of trust creation, operation, and taxation. Designed for practitioners, this session demystifies the essential elements of trusts—grantors, trustees, beneficiaries, and property—and explores their critical roles in effective tax and estate planning. Participants will gain a clear understanding of the different types of trusts, including revocable, irrevocable, testamentary, and specialized trusts like ILITs, QTIPs, and Credit Shelter Bypass Trusts.
Through a practical, FAQ-style format, the course will address common client questions and planning challenges, such as how to use trusts to avoid probate, protect assets, minimize transfer taxes, and provide for family members. Key tax characteristics, including the distinctions between simple, complex, and grantor trusts, will be clarified, along with vital concepts like the annual gift tax exclusion, Crummey powers, and the marital deduction. By the end of this course, professionals will be equipped with the fundamental knowledge necessary to identify when a trust is an appropriate solution and to navigate the initial stages of trust-based planning with confidence.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Identify the fundamental parties and elements of a trust—Grantor, Trustee, Beneficiary, and Property—and describe their respective roles, rights, and responsibilities.
- Distinguish between different types of trusts and their tax characteristics, including revocable vs. irrevocable, living vs. testamentary, and simple, complex, and grantor trusts.
- Explain key tax provisions impacting trusts, such as the gift tax annual exclusion, the marital deduction, and the portability of the estate tax exemption.
- Analyze the use of common estate planning trusts, including the Unified Credit Shelter Bypass Trust and Marital Deduction Trusts (QTIP, Power of Appointment, and QDOT), to achieve client goals and transfer tax efficiency.
- Apply advanced trust strategies, such as Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) with Crummey powers, and trusts for minors (UGMA/UTMA, §2503(c)), to address specific client needs for asset protection, liquidity, and wealth transfer.
Course Specifics
25CLasVegasDec-LE424719
None
None
Compliance Information
IRS Provider Number: 0MYXB
IRS Course Number: 0MYXB-T-02742-25-I
IRS Federal Tax Law Credits: 2
CFP Provider Number: 3199
CFP Course Number: 343548
CFP Credits: 2
CTEC Course Number: 2071-CE-02186
CTEC Federal Tax Law Credits: 2
CFP Notice: Not all courses that qualify for CFP® credit are registered by Western CPE. If a course does not have a CFP registration number in the compliance section, the continuing education will need to be individually reported with the CFP Board. For more information on the reporting process, required documentation, processing fee, etc., contact the CFP Board. CFP Professionals must take each course in it’s entirety, the CFP Board DOES NOT accept partial credits for courses.
CTEC Notice: California Tax Education Council DOES NOT allow partial credit, course must be taken in entirety. Western CPE has been approved by the California Tax Education Council to offer continuing education courses that count as credit towards the annual “continuing education” requirement imposed by the State of California for CTEC Registered Tax Preparers. A listing of additional requirements to register as a tax preparer may be obtained by contacting CTEC at P.O. Box 2890, Sacramento, CA, 95812-2890, by phone toll-free at (877) 850-2832, or on the Internet at www.ctec.org.
Meet The Experts
Steven G. Siegel, JD, LLM, is president of The Siegel Group, which provides consulting services to attorneys, accountants, business owners, family offices, and financial planners. Based in Morristown, New Jersey, the Group provides services throughout the United States. Steven is the author of many books, including: The Grantor Trust Answer Book (2018 CCH); The Adviser’s Guide to Financial and Estate Planning(AICPA 2019); Federal Fiduciary Income Taxation (Foxmoor 2019); and Federal Estate and Gift Tax (Foxmoor 2016). He is also a co-author with Richard Oshins, Esq. of The Anatomy of the Perfect Modern Trust, Estate Planning Magazine January and February 2016. In conjunction with numerous tax-planning lectures he has delivered …