It seems that the topic “du jour” for estate-planning practitioners and other wealth planners in 2024 is compliance with the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which took effect on Jan. 1. And no wonder: The penalties for noncompliance are high, and practitioners are still trying to understand what exactly the CTA requires. Those trying to learn the basics have a variety of conference sessions and webinars to choose from devoted to this topic. But I haven’t seen advice on the steps practitioners should take to modify their practices to accommodate the new CTA requirements and make clear what the practitioner’s role will be in guiding clients. That is, until now. In their article, “Corporate Transparency Act: Updating Legal and Other Documents,” p. 37, Jonathan B. Wilson, Matthew F. Erskine and Martin M. Shenkman detail how certain documents (the engagement letter and trust agreements) need to be modified to reflect the CTA’s requirements and offer sample language to insert into both documents. They also provide a checklist of documents for practitioners to gather to ensure they have the information needed for the CTA’s reporting requirements.
Practitioners with clients who are involved with family businesses not only need to be aware of the CTA but also must stay on top of other trends in the family business arena. One such trend is transferring shares in a family business into a trust during the owner’s life or at their death. In “Trust Ownership of Family Businesses,” p. 68, Patricia M. Angus explains the implications of trust ownership, how to identify what type of trust is best for each client and how to select the right beneficiary. The other articles in our Family Businesses Committee Report include an update on the Congressional Family Business Caucus, a guide to family cohesion, the role of buy-sell agreements in family business succession and risk management for family enterprises.