In-Depth Article Series
Puerto Rico Trust Law for Act 60 Investors
A practitioner-grade series covering everything from trust fundamentals to advanced tax planning. Written by Hans Riefkohl for investors who want to understand the law, not just follow instructions.
⭐ Start Here — Cornerstone Guides
The two foundational guides every trust and Act 60 plan begins with.
The Complete Guide to Puerto Rico Trusts
How trusts work under Law 219-2012 — formation, the autonomous estate, tax treatment, and when a trust beats a will.
Read the guide →Bona Fide Residency & Source-of-Income Rules
The foundation of every Act 60 plan: the three residency tests under IRC §937 (presence, tax home, closer connection) and how income sourcing decides what the exclusion actually saves you.
Read the guide →🏛️ Trust Foundations
Start here to understand how Puerto Rico trusts work and why they differ from mainland trusts.
What Is a Puerto Rico Trust?
The autonomous estate concept, Law 219-2012, and why PR trusts are fundamentally different from mainland trusts.
Read article →Trust Planning for Act 60 Investors
Maintain your mainland revocable trust or create a new PR irrevocable trust? The central decision framework.
Read article →Bringing Your Mainland Trust to PR
What Section 45147 protects, what it doesn’t, and how to avoid the civil law gap.
Read article →🛡️ Trust Types & Strategies
Deep dives into specific trust structures and when to use them.
Modifying Irrevocable Trusts
Four statutory mechanisms for adapting trusts that were designed to be permanent.
Read article →Asset Protection Trusts
The autonomous estate doctrine and three-layer creditor protection structure.
Read article →Special Needs Trusts & Medicaid
SNTs, Medicaid planning, and the unique PR context where nursing facility coverage doesn’t exist.
Read article →ILITs and SLATs
Advanced estate tax reduction for high-net-worth Act 60 couples through irrevocable life insurance and spousal access trusts.
Read article →⚖️ Legal & Tax Framework
The legal rules, tax implications, and case law that shape trust planning.
Avoiding Probate & Legítima
How to structure trusts that bypass probate while fully respecting forced heirship.
Read article →Trust Taxation
Federal grantor trust rules, the three-layer analysis, HB 505, and the OBBBA’s impact.
Read article →Landmark Trust Cases
Sixteen essential PR court decisions from 1957 to 2025 that define how trusts actually work.
Read article →Fiduciary Duties
What your trustee owes you: the five core duties, liability framework, and removal standards.
Read article →The Foreign Trust Trap
Why moving to Puerto Rico can accidentally convert your domestic trust into a foreign trust for IRS purposes.
Read article →📊 Practical Guides
Real-world costs, common mistakes, and how to avoid them.
Trust Costs in Puerto Rico
A transparent breakdown of creation, administration, and termination fees — from $1,500 simple trusts to $35,000+ complex structures.
Read article →Family Trust Pitfalls
Ten specific mistakes that have destroyed family trusts in PR courts, with case illustrations and surgical solutions.
Read article →🏠 Act 60 + Estate Planning
The pairing no pure-tax firm offers: get your decree and protect your wealth under Puerto Rico forced heirship — designed as one engagement.
Estate Planning for Act 60 Relocatees
The 5 risks your mainland estate plan hits in Puerto Rico — forced heirship, unrecognized trusts, no decree succession — and how one firm fixes both halves. En español →
Read the guide →Trust Planning for Act 60 Investors
Keep your mainland revocable trust or create a new PR irrevocable trust? The decision framework for decree holders.
Read article →⏳ Act 60 Decree Toolkit — File Before Dec 31, 2026
Deadline mechanics, savings math, eligibility, and state-departure planning for prospective decree holders.
The Act 60 Deadline: Filing Date vs. Move Date
Why your filing date — not your move date — controls grandfathering under the December 31, 2026 deadline, and how to file before you relocate.
Read the guide →0% vs. 4% Savings Calculator
Model what an Act 60 decree actually saves you — investor 0% and export-services 4% scenarios, side by side.
Use the calculator →Act 60 Eligibility Quiz
A five-minute self-assessment: are you a strong candidate for a decree, a marginal one, or better off not applying?
Take the quiz →Act 60 Requirements: 2026 Checklist
Every requirement to qualify for and keep a decree — residency, the home purchase, the $10K donation, and annual reporting.
Read article →Does Act 60 Eliminate GILTI & Subpart F?
What a decree does — and does not — do for business owners with CFCs, and where the federal anti-deferral rules still reach.
Read article →Who Should NOT Apply for Act 60
The red flags: income types, family situations, and business models where a decree costs more than it saves.
Read article →The True Cost of Act 60 — Is It Worth It?
Filing fees, the annual donation, compliance costs, and the honest break-even math.
Read article →Do You Still Owe U.S. Taxes in Puerto Rico?
What IRC §933 excludes, what you still owe, and why you keep filing with the IRS after the move.
Read article →Leaving California for Puerto Rico
FTB residency audits, the Bragg factors, the 546-day safe harbor, and how to actually cut California ties.
Read article →Leaving New York for Puerto Rico
New York’s domicile test, statutory residency, and the audit defense playbook for departing residents.
Read article →🇦🇸 Recursos en Español
Guías completas sobre fideicomisos, sucesiones y la Ley 60 — escritas para residentes de Puerto Rico.
¿Qué es un Fideicomiso en Puerto Rico?
Cómo funcionan los fideicomisos bajo la Ley 219-2012: el patrimonio autónomo, tipos de fideicomiso y cuándo conviene crear uno.
Leer artículo →¿Cuánto Cuesta un Fideicomiso?
Costos reales de crear y administrar un fideicomiso en Puerto Rico — honorarios, gastos notariales y mantenimiento anual.
Leer artículo →Fideicomiso Irrevocable en Puerto Rico
Protección de activos, planificación sucesoral y las reglas de la Ley 219-2012 para fideicomisos irrevocables.
Leer artículo →Ley 60: Fecha Límite 2026
Por qué la fecha de radicación — no la mudanza — controla sus beneficios bajo la fecha límite del 31 de diciembre de 2026.
Leer la guía →Requisitos de la Ley 60 en 2026
Todos los requisitos para cualificar y conservar un decreto: residencia bona fide, la vivienda, el donativo anual y los informes.
Leer artículo →¿Todavía Paga Impuestos Federales en PR?
Lo que excluye la Sección 933, lo que sigue debiendo al IRS y por qué mudarse no elimina toda su planilla federal.
Leer artículo →Ley 60: Guía para Inversionistas
Requisitos de residencia, beneficios contributivos, proceso de solicitud y errores comunes de los inversionistas individuales.
Leer artículo →Declaratoria de Herederos en Puerto Rico
El proceso paso a paso cuando no hay testamento: documentos, tribunal o notario, y cuánto tarda.
Leer artículo →