Trust Structures & Advanced Planning Techniques

Designed for Your Organization

Our Enterprise Solutions team works with you to build the right experience — whether that's a keynote address, a half-day workshop, a multi-session webinar series, or a fully integrated training program. Topics, format, session length, and depth of content are all customizable to align with your audience, your objectives, and your timeline.

Course Topics

Types and Uses of Irrevocable Trusts
This session explores the strategic role of irrevocable trusts in estate and wealth planning. Participants will learn about specialized trusts such as Silent, Incentive, Blind, and Medicaid-qualifying trusts, as well as advanced planning tools like GRATs, QPRTs, IDGTs, SLATs, and split-interest trusts, including CRUTs and CLATs. The discussion emphasizes how these structures support tax efficiency, asset protection, and philanthropic goals.

Trust Protectors and Directors
Protectors are an old concept that is new to American trust law. Here, we will discuss the role of the protector and what they can and cannot do. We will discuss the nature of the role and when it is and is not a fiduciary capacity. Finally, we will explore, for fiduciaries, how to work with Trust Protectors and Advisors.

SLATs - Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts are an adaptation of rules created in the Internal Revenue Code, which enable a client to make gifts to use up their lifetime exemption while retaining the possibility of still having access to the funds. In this discussion, we will review the requirements, options, and creative use of this widely used technique for the transference of property in a tax effective manner.

Grantor Trusts
Grantor Trusts, including Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs) and Beneficiary Defective Inheritors Trusts (BDITs), are an extremely popular tool use in very simple and very complex manners. Here we will revisit the rules and options available when using this versatile technique. We will also couple the IDGT with sales to enhance the technique and understand some of the features added to this creative planning technique that is so useful that congress has proposed its elimination.

Sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
GRAT alternative, a Sale to an Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT) is a widely used technique in UHNW planning. They can be straightforward or multi-layered in their design, but these versatile tools can enable clients to transfer large amounts of capital with little to no taxation. Learn how they work.

Discretionary Distributions from Irrevocable Trusts
A Limited Power of Appointment, often referred to as the Ascertainable Standard or HEMS standard, is the secret ingredient to the major advantages of irrevocable trusts and what makes them work so well. This knowledge is the basis of discretionary distribution decision-making and makes it easier to understand how and why discretionary decision making is done. We must also communicate these advantages to the client and beneficiaries.

Powers of Appointment: Six Rules to Encode or Decode Every Trust
Powers of Appointment are the secret ingredient to the major advantages of irrevocable trusts and the formula that makes them work, yet the code does not do a good job of quantifying them, so we will do it for them. This knowledge is the basis of discretionary distribution decision-making and makes it easier to decode documents, or design them in the first place, but also to communicate the advantages to the client and beneficiaries.

Who Should Enroll and Why

Trust Officers and Fiduciaries will gain deeper insight into how advanced trust structures are designed and how their terms impact ongoing administration, distribution decisions, and fiduciary risk. This course strengthens your ability to interpret complex provisions, communicate effectively with beneficiaries and advisors, and administer sophisticated trusts with confidence and consistency.

Financial Advisors and Wealth Managers will expand their understanding of advanced transfer planning techniques and how these structures support tax efficiency, asset protection, and multigenerational planning goals. This knowledge allows you to engage more meaningfully in planning discussions, recognize when advanced tools may be appropriate, and coordinate more effectively with attorneys and other specialists.

Estate Planning Attorneys and Tax Professionals will benefit from a focused review of advanced trust structures and the planning concepts that make them effective. The course reinforces practical application, highlights drafting and design considerations, and examines how sophisticated techniques perform over time under real‑world conditions.

Aspiring Trust and Wealth Professionals will find this program valuable for building fluency in advanced planning terminology and concepts. By gaining exposure to sophisticated trust structures and their uses, you will be better prepared for developing roles in estate planning, fiduciary administration, or high‑net‑worth advisory services.

Course Instructors

Daniel A. Smith, CFP®, CWS®

As a dedicated professional, Daniel Smith believes that everyone deserves sound advice and exceptional service. With his extensive real-world experience, Daniel brings a spirited approach to his instruction, helping advisors put their knowledge into immediate, practical use to better serve their clients. His expertise lies in sales and relationship management skills, which he seamlessly integrates with the complexities of estate planning, estate taxation, charitable giving, and investment management. By doing so, Daniel empowers advisors to effectively guide wealthy clients and their families in achieving their goals.

Before joining Cannon, Daniel spent years as a client-facing advisor in the Wealth Management and Trust business. His 25 years of experience with Cannon have further enriched his knowledge, as he constantly interacts with top financial advisors and wealthy individuals across the globe, incorporating best practices into his teachings.

A sought-after speaker, Daniel frequently presents at financial services firms and conferences worldwide, covering topics such as sales, exceptional service, estate planning, taxation, and industry trends. His insights have been featured in numerous publications, including Trusts & Estates and Registered Rep magazines. As the leader of Cannon Trust School, the largest trust school in the country, Daniel continues to make a significant impact on the industry. His consulting work spans distance-based learning solutions, private family wealth consultation, and expert witness services.

Meagan MacBean, J.D.

Meagan MacBean is a dedicated professional who believes that exceptional service is rooted in a deep understanding of the complexities of estate and trust law. As the founder of The MacBean Law Firm, LLC, she brings extensive experience as both a practicing attorney and a former Trust Officer to her work. Meagan provides a spirited, real-world approach to her instruction, helping advisors translate technical knowledge into immediate, practical solutions for their clients. Her expertise seamlessly integrates the nuances of estate planning, asset protection, and planning for incapacity with the operational realities of trust and estate administration.

Before establishing her own firm, Meagan spent years advising high-net-worth clients on wealth transfer strategies and fiduciary responsibilities. Her professional background is further enriched by her academic contributions; she serves as a Lecturer at Mississippi State University, where she teaches Real Estate Law, International Business Law, and Entrepreneur Law. This dual perspective, balancing private practice with academic instruction, allows her to empower advisors to effectively guide wealthy families in achieving their long-term goals.

A highly credentialed expert, Meagan is an honors graduate of Cannon Financial Institute Trust School and holds a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Her insights have been featured in publications such as SC Lawyer Magazine, and she is a recognized leader in the field, having been selected for the Mississippi Bar Association’s Leadership Forum and Portico Jackson Magazine’s "Portico 15". Through her work as a guest instructor and her specialized practice in fiduciary litigation and tax preparation, Meagan continues to make a significant impact on the industry.