Research Problem 1. Grinder Ltd. is an S corporation that is wholly owned by Juan Plowright. Because several of Juan’s ancestors have had Alzheimer’s disease, Juan is transferring many of his assets to trusts, and he is funding living wills in anticipation       of  future  medical issues.

Juan wants to transfer his Grinder stock to a trust, but he wants to keep control over its operations for as long as possible. Thus, he wants to retain a right to revoke the trust, until such time as the trustee (a Grinder executive who is on good terms with Juan) and a medical professional determine that Juan no longer is competent. You have explained to Juan that this entity is a grantor trust and that there are no income-shifting or transfer-tax-saving aspects in using such a trust.

The pertinent tax issues to be addressed are summarized below.

•     Does the grantor trust terminate Grinder’s status as an S  corporation?

•     Will Grinder’s S election survive Juan’s death? Under the terms of Juan’s will, the S shares will be held by his estate  and not  be  distributed  to his  niece  Beatriz  until  she  reaches  age 25.

All parties are residents of New Mexico. Cite and summarize your findings in an outline for a talk that you will deliver next week to your school’s Accounting Club.