The Taxation of Distributions from Qualified Employee Benefit Plans

One of the most confusing aspects of employee benefit plans is the federal tax treatment of distributions to the participants of these plans and to the beneficiaries of deceased participants. The issues frequently involve not only income taxation, but estate and gift taxation as well. While the average practitioner may never be called upon to draft a pension or profit-sharing plan, he may be asked by his client about the consequences of the various alternative methods of receiving a benefit from such a plan. Many employee benefit plans, particularly profit-sharing plans, offer a participant upon his retirement from the plan or upon his separation from employment a choice of a lump sum distribution, installment payments or some form of annuity. A participant\u27s choice will affect his tax liability, and the wrong advice to the client may be costly. The attorney who does not specialize in the area of employee benefit plans may also discover that in drafting a will or establishing an estate plan some knowledge of the tax treatment of distributions from these plans is necessary. As more employees participate in employee benefit plans, and as more employees are faced with a choice as to the method of distribution at retirement, the attorney can expect more requests for advice in this matter

The Uniform Custodial Trust Act: An Alternative to Adult Guardianship

The problems associated with court appointed guardianship are axiomatic. The public nature of the court proceeding required for appointment of a guardian is of concern to many families who become involved in the process. The expense and delay associated with the original hearing, as well as subsequent hearings that may be necessary in the operation of the guardianship, are also a great disadvantage of guardianship. As a means of managing property, guardianship is cumbersome, expensive and inflexible. Recently, stories of the expense and potential abuse of guardianship for adults have found their way into the popular press. While most people think of guardianship as relating solely to minors or people adjudicated as mentally incompetent, guardianship may also be necessary for adults who suffer from functional incapacity below a level that would justify a formal adjudication of mental incapacity

Annual Survey of Virginia Law: The Virginia Limited Liability Company Act

Since the passage of the sixteenth amendment\u27 in 1913 and the income tax legislation adopted thereunder, the development of new forms of business entities has been driven largely by the desire to harmonize two goals: limited liability for the owners of the entity and pass-through treatment of the entity for income tax purposes

An Interdisciplinary Assessment of Biogas Production and the Bioenergy Potential within the South West of England

There is a growing need to reduce the use of fossil fuels for energy. A twofold reason exists for this: firstly these resources are finite; secondly the utilisation of these resources releases greenhouse gases which are known to contribute towards climate change. The rise in global population and energy use per person is adding to the unsustainable use of fossil fuels. There is the potential to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the South West of England. The region’s abundant natural resources could be used to reduce the overreliance on energy from fossil fuels. A key natural and renewable resource within the region is the availability of biomass. Bioenergy is a form of energy, derived from biomass. Bioenergy has the capability to displace the use of fossil fuels. Additionally, it has the potential to reduce the effect of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide during the biomass production period. It has the possibility of being integrated into existing infrastructure and is one of the few renewable technologies which can satisfy an array of end-use energy requirements. This thesis highlights a unique method of assessing the potential of bioenergy in the South West of England using a multi appraisal technique. The initial assessment within this thesis has examined the resource availability of bioenergy based on biomass feedstock. Whilst quantifying the overall availability, constraints have been examined to determine the realisable potential of biomass as an energy source. The analysis has then assessed the drivers and barriers of bioenergy development within the region and contextualised this for the UK in general. Following the selection of a single bioenergy pathway (biogas production from anaerobic digestion), the technology has been assessed using a multi appraisal methodology. This methodology has involved the use of net-energy analysis, environmental life cycle assessment and financial investment assessments. The thesis demonstrates that the region has a notable resource availability of biomass. However, a number of barriers to development have been found which could impede the utilisation of this energy source. The selected bioenergy pathway of biogas from anaerobic digestion was found to eliminate some of these barriers. Assessing the potential of biogas using multi appraisal techniques highlighted that this pathway could, in some cases, offer positive environmental, energy and financial benefits.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo