Seminars And Lectures
Upcoming Seminars
Intermediate and Advanced Estate Planning Techniques
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Times: 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Zoom Live Video Conference / Hybrid
This program will introduce the participants to basic and advanced estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer tax rules. Pre-death planning is critical to minimize the overall wealth transfer taxes for a family. The program will address the following specific techniques:
- Revocable Trust and Marital Deduction Planning;
- Irrevocable Gifting Trusts Designed as Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Trusts;
- Discussion of Step Up in Basis v. Carry Over Basis;
- Gifting using Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs);
- Funding SLATs with discounted assets using LLCs with voting and nonvoting shares;
- Valuation Issues;
- Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and Qualified Personal Residents Trusts
(QPRTs) compared to sales to Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Trusts; and
- Q&A.
Registration Form: 2026 Fall CPE Registration Form
The Foundation for Continuing Education – 11/10/26
Medicaid Planning Update – 2026
What’s New with Medicaid and What Needs to be Reviewed
To Register, contact Rick Solano at 978-468-6528 or click the link below.
From last minute Medicaid eligibility tips for the unplanned to drafting and taxation of irrevocable income only trusts and testamentary trusts for the advanced planner.
Description:
Last Minute Medicaid Techniques: Come Learn How:
- To protect the primary residence for married and single folks;
- To make countable rental property non-countable;
- To make countable vacation property non-countable;
- To protect life insurance policies (whole life vs term life);
- To protect excess resources through Medicaid annuities and pooled trusts with a full discussion of the recently decided SJC decision in the Dermody case regarding annuities;
- To differentiate countable vs non-countable assets;
- To deal with the caretaker child exception, related rules, and recent fair hearing decisions regarding the same;
- Medicaid liens operate and how they can actually be a good thing;
- The five year lookback period operates and related exceptions to it vs the penalty period;
- Special needs trusts and sole benefit trusts operate
- To get a family worth $2 million eligible for Medicaid last minute when one spouse gets sick.
Drafting and Taxation of Irrevocable Income Only Trusts: Come Learn
- How to draft irrevocable trusts to withstand MassHealth scrutiny;
- Frequent arguments made by MassHealth;
- How the Hirvi settlement is helping to support irrevocable trusts, administrative consistency, and due process;
- How eligibility operations memo 20-04 is helping practitioners to better draft trusts and how it operates;
- How the Fournier v. Sudders case reads and its benefit to drafting these irrevocable trusts
- About other recent fair hearing decisions;
- How the limited power of appointment operates;
- The grantor trust rules for income tax purposes;
- How 26 U.S.C §1014(a) and step up in basis works with these trusts;
- Gift tax consequences of these trusts 26 CFR § 25.2511(c)
Estate tax consequences of these trusts including drafting of the marital and remainder shares to both protect assets and shelter for estate taxes;
- About eligibility operations memo 19-12 re-defining calculation of life estate and remainder values and the Medicaid and income tax consequences (planning pointer and operation memo is currently being drafted to fix this problem and we’ll discuss it);
Testamentary Trusts, IRAs, and Life Insurance:
- How trust and transfer rules apply to testamentary trusts, how to draft them, and how they operate;
- Estate tax benefits of naming estate as the designated beneficiary of an IRA coupled with a testamentary trust;
- Income tax benefits of naming estate as the designated beneficiary of an IRA vs naming the surviving spouse
- To calculate the RMDs after naming the estate as the designated beneficiary under the Secure Act vs surviving spouse;
- The Medicaid benefits and protections from naming the estate as the designated beneficiary of the IRA
- The estate tax and Medicaid benefits of naming the estate as the designated beneficiary of a life insurance policy.
Live Conference
Date: TUESDAY, November 17th, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Natick Marriott Courtyard
Address: 342 Speen St.
Natick, MA 01760
Speaker
Todd E. Lutsky, Esq., LL.M., Cushing & Dolan, P.C., Waltham
Thomas J. McKinnon, Esq., Cushing & Dolan, P.C., Waltham
CPE Credits: 4
The Foundation for Continuing Education – 11/17/26
Estate Planning Essentials: Federal & MA Issues (706, 709, & M-706 Workshop)
To Register, contact Rick Solano at 978-468-6528 or click the link below.
DESCRIPTION:
It appears that the Biden Administration attempt to pass the 99.5% Act has failed. While there still may be future attempts, it appears the exemption would not fall back more than the current legislation’s 2026 level. We will explore the latest legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 which introduced a variety of new planning opportunities – it is all about the basis. Massachusetts, however, continues to limit its exemption to $1,000,000, although there has been some legislation reintroduced to Beacon Hill to increase this exemption to $2,000,000 – stay tuned. In this program, we will guide you through the proper preparation of federal and state estate tax returns, as well as any necessary gift tax returns, including a discussion of the pros and cons of the portability election and how it works, the QTIP election for the state, and even the potential benefits of a federal QTIP election, coupled with gifting assets flush with basis by the surviving spouse to reduce the future Massachusetts estate tax. Finally, we will explore the recent Supreme Judicial Court decision in the Schaffer case showing how not making a federal QTIP election, even without gifting by the surviving spouse, could lower the estate tax of the surviving spouse.
Using a hypothetical example we will guide you through schedule by schedule the preparation of a federal and Massachusetts estate tax return along with an explanation of the different estate planning techniques you may encounter when preparing these returns as well as whether they are included in the estate or not, such as revocable trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, first and second to die variety, Medicaid income only trusts, limited liability companies, and much more with special attention paid to a joint trust and the application of § 1014(e) to the trust and the possible double step-up in basis through a combination of the federal QTIP election and portability. So, sharpen your pencil and come to this hypothetical-packed session ready to “do the math.”
Live Conference
Date: TUESDAY, November 17th
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Marriott Courtyard Natick
Address: 342 Speen Street Natick, MA
Speaker
Todd E. Lutsky, Esq., LL.M., Cushing & Dolan, P.C., Waltham
CPE Credits: 4
MCLE – Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education – 12/03/26
Drafting Successful Medicaid Trusts
DESCRIPTION:
It’s never too late, don’t just write the check to the nursing home, come and learn essential tactics and tips all elder law and estate planning attys should know about saving assets from the nursing home last minute.
Last-minute Medicaid planning remains critically important when faced with an unexpected nursing home admission even where no prior planning has been undertaken. Don’t fall into the trap for the unwary where you believe you simply have too many assets to qualify for Medicaid. This program will show you what types of assets are countable and which ones are not as well as how they are treated differently for married couples versus single people. From IRAs and brokerage accounts to rental properties, vacation homes and your primary residence. You will learn the techniques from annuities to pooled trusts that will allow you to protect more assets last minute than you might think.
Agenda
- How Annuities Work and When to Use Them to protect excess resources along with an explanation of the Dermondy case
- Understand the Look-Back Period v. the Disqualification Period and How to Calculate It
- The Zahner Case and a Possible Return to Using the Old Half-a-Loaf Approach to Last-Minute Gifting
- Ways to Avoid the Look-Back Period
- The caretaker child exception
- Use of pooled trusts
- Transfers to a disabled child and the sole benefit trusts
- Transfers to a disabled person
- Transfers to a sibling with an ownership interest in the home
- Countable v. Non-Countable Assets
- How the Home Is Treated When Single v. Married and the Related Lien Rules
- How Rental Properties and Vacation Homes Are Treated and how a lien is really your friend
- How Life Insurance is treated and the difference between term and whole life policies
- How IRAs and 401Ks are treated
- Tax Considerations When Implementing These Last-Minute Techniques
- Hypothetical Example how a 2.2 Million dollars couple with no Medicaid Planning in Place is still eligible for Medicaid Last Minute.
Live Webcast
Date: THURSDAY, December 3rd, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Live Webcast, www.mcle.org, Live Webcast
Speaker
Todd E. Lutsky, Esq., Cushing & Dolan, PC, Waltham
CPE Credits: 3.0
Boston Tax Institute – 12/10/26
Estate Planning Essentials: Federal & MA Issues (706, 709 & M-706 Workshop)
DESCRIPTION:
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has passed, and federal estate tax exemptions are $15M each as of 01/01/26 indexed for inflation and permanent at least for now. We will explore this act and its impact on estate planning. Certainly, this will allow a return to the focus of obtaining the step-up in basis and its related benefits which can be explored through the power of the joint revocable trust. From a MA perspective, we will do a deep dive into the new MA estate tax legislation three years later increasing the exemption to $2M along with the most recent legislation of MA H 4799 finally settling how to handle out-of- state property for MA estate tax purposes for residents of the state once and for all effective 9-16-24. Finally, MA has amended its legislation on the calculation of the MA estate tax following the Schaffer decision eliminating the MA only QTIP. We will explore this new legislation along with the potential planning benefits that still exist for previously made MA only QTIPs when a surviving spouse dies under the currently law.
Join us for a walk thru schedule by schedule of a hypothetical example of the proper preparation of federal and state estate tax returns as well as necessary gift tax returns, including an explanation of the different estate planning trusts that you may encounter when preparing these returns and whether they are included or not in the estate’ such as Revocable trusts, irrevocable Medicaid trusts, life insurance trusts first and second to die variety, joint revocable trusts, and so much more. So turn on your laptops and sharpen your pencils for this detailed seminar in which you will explore:
- The importance of step up in basis under 1014(a) and the use of joint trusts to get a full step up on the first death and a potential double step up in basis later;
- The pros and cons of portability of unused exemptions and how it works from a dying and lifetime gifting standpoint, also a review of the Rowland v Commissioner case showing the importance of electing portability;
- The making of a federal QTIP election even when under the exemption coupled with gifting assets flush with basis by surviving spouse;
- The revenue ruling 2032-2 and its impact on the step up in basis for irrevocable grantor trusts;
- The new MA estate tax law increasing the exemption to $2.0 million along with a deep dive into this legislation including:
- A focus on the federal gross estate and the computation of the state death tax credit;
- The problem with lack of portability and the tax cost of failure to plan for a married couple;
- The impact on the old cliff rule and how it may help the ability to make life time gifts
- Did the filing threshold change;
- How to handle non residents who own MA real estate by using a limited liability company;
- How to handle out of state real estate owned by a mass resident, the F. Davis Dassori Case and now the new MA H 4799 legislation effective 9-16 which resolves this out of state real estate controversy once and for all.
- Explore the new MA legislation after the fallout from the SJC decision in Schaffer and how a possible MA only QTIP election without a federal QTIP may escape taxation on the surviving spouse’s death. While this benefit may be closed, it seems to leave open the benefit of using the MA only QTIP from deaths prior to this new legislation and getting the benefit of it upon the death of the surviving spouse currently.
Live Webcast
Date: THURSDAY, December 10th , 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Speaker
Todd E. Lutsky, Esq., Cushing & Dolan, PC, Waltham
CPE Credits: 4.0
The Foundation for Continuing Education – 12/15/26
Estate Planning Essentials: Federal & MA Issues (706, 709, & M-706 Workshop)
To Register, contact Rick Solano at 978-468-6528 or click the link below.
DESCRIPTION:
It appears that the Biden Administration attempt to pass the 99.5% Act has failed. While there still may be future attempts, it appears the exemption would not fall back more than the current legislation’s 2026 level. We will explore the latest legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2018 which introduced a variety of new planning opportunities – it is all about the basis. Massachusetts, however, continues to limit its exemption to $1,000,000, although there has been some legislation reintroduced to Beacon Hill to increase this exemption to $2,000,000 – stay tuned. In this program, we will guide you through the proper preparation of federal and state estate tax returns, as well as any necessary gift tax returns, including a discussion of the pros and cons of the portability election and how it works, the QTIP election for the state, and even the potential benefits of a federal QTIP election, coupled with gifting assets flush with basis by the surviving spouse to reduce the future Massachusetts estate tax. Finally, we will explore the recent Supreme Judicial Court decision in the Schaffer case showing how not making a federal QTIP election, even without gifting by the surviving spouse, could lower the estate tax of the surviving spouse.
Using a hypothetical example we will guide you through schedule by schedule the preparation of a federal and Massachusetts estate tax return along with an explanation of the different estate planning techniques you may encounter when preparing these returns as well as whether they are included in the estate or not, such as revocable trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, first and second to die variety, Medicaid income only trusts, limited liability companies, and much more with special attention paid to a joint trust and the application of § 1014(e) to the trust and the possible double step-up in basis through a combination of the federal QTIP election and portability. So, sharpen your pencil and come to this hypothetical-packed session ready to “do the math.”
Live Conference
Date: TUESDAY, December 15th, 2026
Time: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: Marriott Courtyard Natick
Address: 342 Speen Street Natick, MA
Speaker
Todd E. Lutsky, Esq., LL.M., Cushing & Dolan, P.C., Waltham
CPE Credits: 4
From 1041 Preparation Workshop
January 21, 2027 @ 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
$298
This is an 8-hour live video conference (8 CPE credits) led by Leo J. Cushing, Esq., LL.M., CPA who has been a practicing tax attorney for over 40 years and taught Income Taxation of Decedents Estates and Trusts in the Boston University Graduate Tax Program.
Zoom Live Video Conference: Jan. 21st, 9am-4:30pm ET
Topics include the preparation of a decedent’s final 1040 return and Form 1041 and Schedule K-1 for estates and simple and complex trusts including a discussion of the applicability of Section 199A to trusts, estates, and their beneficiaries; electing small business trusts; the allocation of income and deductions between the decedent and the estate; selection of fiscal year and other post-mortem tax planning issues; computing DNI and the deduction for distributions; special problems of IRD; allocation of items such as depreciation and the S 691(c) deduction; special issues for a complex trust including distributions in kind and the 65-day rule; AMT considerations; grantor trust issues; changes made by recent tax legislation including the 3.8% tax on undistributed net investment income; and so much more.