Complexities of Foreign Trusts: Tax and Compliance Essentials

George R. McCormick | Baker Hostetler

George McCormick advises high net worth individuals and their families, entrepreneurs and business owners, family offices and trust companies on U.S. federal tax and estate and trust planning.

He provides general estate planning as well as more advanced gift and trust planning advice that includes counseling fund principals with gifting fund interests, creating grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs), private trust companies, charitable trusts and the use of life insurance strategies and structures. George counsel’s clients with tax compliance issues that may arise, including representing them in front of the IRS and advising clients who might need to make disclosures to the IRS.

A significant part of George’s practice is cross-border tax and wealth planning advice. He counsels non-U.S. individuals and U.S. citizens residing overseas, providing trust and succession planning advice for their American family members, creating foreign grantor trusts and administering foreign no grantor trusts. He assists non-U.S. clients with structuring tax efficient investments in U.S. real estate, funds and other U.S. situs investments, in addition to tax planning for immigration to the United States. George advises U.S. citizens living abroad, or who invest overseas, on a range of issues, including tax, estate and expatriation planning, focusing on the relevant non-U.S. legal and tax issues that may affect them. He developed his skills in international tax planning by practicing law in Hong Kong for more than five years early in his legal career. George is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), the international professional body for advisers who concentrate on cross-border inheritance and succession planning.

George worked for the Florida Department of Revenue before entering private practice, administering taxpayer audit appeals, providing taxpayers with guidance concerning state tax laws and advising state legislators and executives on federal and state tax law and legislation. He also served as Legislative Counsel to U.S. Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D., of Texas, drafting U.S. federal income and estate tax legislation and advising the congressman on tax and economic policy, foreign affairs and transportation.

I. What is a foreign trust? | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

II. What are the tax implications of foreign trust status and distributions? | 2:10pm – 2:45pm

III. What are the reporting requirements for foreign trusts? | 2:45pm – 3:10pm