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To protect both buyers and sellers, life settlements and viaticals are well-regulated by statute in 45 of the 50 states.

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Within the context of the regulatory framework, it is possible to divide the parties to a life settlement transaction into three groups: the seller’s side, the buyer’s side and the intermediaries.

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In most states, there are licensing requirements for most of the parties.

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“,”breadcrumb”:[]},{“publication”:”Tax Facts”,”baseDomain”:”www.thinkadvisor.com/tax-facts”,”presentedBy”:””,”uri”:”/tax-facts/2025/04/08/3640-remote-workers-eligible-for-leave-under-the-family-and-medical-leave-act-fmla/”,”title”:”3640.03 / Are remote workers eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?”,”byline”:”John Manganaro”,”kicker”:””,”timeToRead”:”11 minute”,”authors”:[{“name”:”John Manganaro”,”webUrl”:”/author/profile/john-manganaro/”}],”kickerNode”:[],”categories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”allCategories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”prettyDate”:”April 08, 2025″,”pubDate”:”2025-04-08 08:20:36″,”prettyModifiedDate”:”February 17, 2025 at 01:29 PM”,”readtime”:”11″,”primaryCategory”:{“channelName”:””,”sectionName”:””,”uri”:””},”image”:{“uri”:” Note: The DOL has released a bulletin clarifying its position on employer obligations when determining whether a remote employee is eligible for FMLA leave. Employers must generally provide FMLA leave if they employ at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius. When employees work from home, the worksite for FMLA eligibility purposes is the office to which they report or from which their assignments are generated. So, if at least 50 employees (including remote workers) are employed within 75 miles of the office to which the employee reports or from which assignments are generated, the remote employee is eligible for FMLA leave (even if no other employees are employed within 75 miles of the employee’s remote office).
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\nThe Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law that gives covered employees the right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for any covered reason. While it may seem that employees who are not required to report to a physical location would be less likely to need time off to handle family and medical issues, the reality is that many are equally unable to work while a covered reason is ongoing. Employers with remote workers should be aware that they may be required to grant an employee’s request for unpaid time off even if the employee does not report to a physical worksite.
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\nCovered reasons under the FMLA include:
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• For the birth and care of the newborn child of an employee,

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• For placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care,

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• To care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition, or

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• For medical leave if the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.

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\nPlanning Point: Note that the Sixth Circuit² has ruled that employers may be required to grant FMLA leave when an employee must care for an adult sibling.  The issue to consider is whether an \”in loco parentis\” relationship exists between the two parties.  Factors listed by the Sixth Circuit as relevant to the determination include whether the person (1) is in close physical proximity to the adult, (2) assumes responsibility for supporting the adult, (3) exercises control over the adult or has rights over them and (4) shares a close emotional or familial bond (similar to that of an adult child).  While the case is limited to the Sixth Circuit, it makes clear that employers should carefully consider the facts before denying a request for FMLA leave.
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\nNot all employees are eligible for unpaid FLMA leave and not all employers are subject to the law. Employees are eligible for FMLA leave if they:
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• Have worked for their employer at least 12 months,

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• Have worked at least 1,250 hours over the 12 months preceding the request for FMLA leave, and

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• Work at a location where the company employs 50 or more employees within a 75-miles radius.³

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\nThis law may create unanticipated complications for employers who permit employees to work on a remote basis. In some cases, remote workers report to an office that is in their same geographic location. However, it is becoming more common for workers to report to managers and supervisors who are also working remotely from different locations.
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\nWhen a remote employee requests FMLA leave, questions involving whether the employee is entitled to the FMLA leave often arise. The issue in these cases is whether the employer has at least 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the remote employee’s workplace.
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\nPlanning Point: Employers who continue to permit remote work should be aware that existing and evolving state and local paid leave laws may apply. For example, Illinois has enacted a new paid bereavement act that became effective January 1, 2023. Under the law, the same requirements that apply in determining FMLA eligibility apply. An employee is eligible to take leave if the employee has worked for a covered employer for at least 1,250 hours within the previous 12 months, and also works at a location where the employer has 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius.⁴
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\nThe Healthy Delaware Families Act provides up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave beginning in 2026 (employers will be required to begin implementing payroll deductions as of January 1, 2025). The law is similar to the federal FMLA, but applies to smaller employers, so that any employer with 10 or more employees who report to a Delaware worksite will be required to comply. It remains to be seen whether the law will apply to employers with ten or more employees who work remotely from Delaware.⁵
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\nA Texas court⁶ recently refused to grant a motion to dismiss a case where a company denied an employee’s request for FMLA leave. The company claimed they did not have 50 employees within a 75-mile radius in Texas. The employer’s headquarters was in Ohio, yet the employee was working remotely from Texas (the employee’s supervisor was also working remotely from Texas). The employee claimed that her “worksite” for FMLA purposes was Ohio, where the company was headquartered.
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\nTo have won summary judgement, the court found the company must establish that Ohio was not:
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• The employee’s “home base”,

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• The site that assigns the employee’s work, or

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• The site to which the employee reports

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\nThe court found that the term “worksite” had to be a location where the employee was physically present and that it referred not to the physical base of the employer’s operations, but to the physical base of the employee. The employee in this case was never physically present in Ohio, so she could not prove Ohio was her home base. However, the court found an issue of fact with respect to where the employee’s assignments were created and originated. The court found that this location is the site from which the employee’s day-to-day instructions were provided and that there was an issue of fact as to whether the assignments originated at the Ohio headquarters.
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\nThe Texas case settled privately before the court provided a final resolution of the issues. The case does, however, point to the fact-intensive nature of the inquiry as to whether any given remote employee may be eligible for FMLA leave. Employers should be aware that is possible that they may be required to provide FMLA leave even if they do not have 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the remote employee’s physical location. That may be the case if the employee can establish that assignments were created or originated from the employer’s central location or if the employee sends assignments to a central location where they are evaluated (i.e., if the employee’s reporting worksite is where the employer has at least 50 employees).
\n”,”breadcrumb”:[]},{“publication”:”Tax Facts”,”baseDomain”:”www.thinkadvisor.com/tax-facts”,”presentedBy”:””,”uri”:”/tax-facts/2025/01/08/8791-is-the-value-of-employer-provided-coverage-under-accident-or-health-insurance-taxable-income-to-an-employee-when-the-coverage-is-provided-for-the-employees-spouse-children-or-dependent/”,”title”:”8791 / Is the value of employer-provided coverage under accident or health insurance taxable income to an employee when the coverage is provided for the employee’s spouse, children or dependents?”,”byline”:”John Manganaro”,”kicker”:””,”timeToRead”:”11 minute”,”authors”:[{“name”:”John Manganaro”,”webUrl”:”/author/profile/john-manganaro/”}],”kickerNode”:[],”categories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”allCategories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”prettyDate”:”January 08, 2025″,”pubDate”:”2025-01-08 08:55:31″,”prettyModifiedDate”:”December 30, 2024 at 01:29 PM”,”readtime”:”11″,”primaryCategory”:{“channelName”:””,”sectionName”:””,”uri”:””},”image”:{“uri”:”https://images.thinkadvisor.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/415/2021/12/Curtis_Scott_Raymond-James_640x640.jpg”,”width”:”640″,”height”:”640″},”summary”:”

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“,”breadcrumb”:[]},{“publication”:”Tax Facts”,”baseDomain”:”www.thinkadvisor.com/tax-facts”,”presentedBy”:””,”uri”:”/tax-facts/2025/01/08/3757-auto-enrollment-rules-apply-to-401k-plans-starting-in025/”,”title”:”3757.01 / What auto-enrollment rules apply to 401(k) plans starting in 2025?”,”byline”:”John Manganaro”,”kicker”:””,”timeToRead”:”11 minute”,”authors”:[{“name”:”John Manganaro”,”webUrl”:”/author/profile/john-manganaro/”}],”kickerNode”:[],”categories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”allCategories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”prettyDate”:”January 08, 2025″,”pubDate”:”2025-01-08 08:47:26″,”prettyModifiedDate”:”January 13, 2025 at 01:29 PM”,”readtime”:”11″,”primaryCategory”:{“channelName”:””,”sectionName”:””,”uri”:””},”image”:{“uri”:”https://images.thinkadvisor.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/415/2021/12/Curtis_Scott_Raymond-James_640x640.jpg”,”width”:”640″,”height”:”640″},”summary”:”Starting with the 2025 tax year, the SECURE Act 2.0 requires employers that establish new 401(k) or 403(b) plans to auto-enroll employees in the savings plans.  
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\nThe minimum auto-enrollment contribution rate will range from 3% to 10%.  Each year, the minimum contribution rate will then increase by 1% until the rate reaches 15%.  
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\nThe IRS has released proposed regs confirming that there is no delay–meaning that new plans are currently subject to the auto-enrollment rule starting in 2025.  The rules contained in the proposed regulations will be effective six months after the date that final regulations are published.  In the meantime, a reasonable, good faith interpretation of the law is required.   
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\nThe regulations clarify that there is no provision that excludes any class of participant from auto-enrollment, meaning that long-term part-time employees must also be automatically enrolled if they are otherwise eligible and the plan is subject to the rule.  Participants with an affirmative election to opt out of auto-enrollment on file do not have to be automatically enrolled in the plan.  The preamble to the proposed regulations clarifies that when plans did not automatically enroll participants who were already participating in the plan, yet did not make an affirmative election, they must automatically enroll the participant by the first plan year when final regulations are effective (presumably, 2027).  The participant’s default deferral rate must be calculated as though they had been auto-enrolled since 2025.  
\n
\nUnder the law, small business employers who normally employ 10 or fewer employees and new businesses are exempt from the auto-enrollment requirement.  The proposed regulations clarify that self-employed individuals, independent contractors and corporate directors do not count toward the  10-employee threshold (only common law employees must be included).“,”breadcrumb”:[]},{“publication”:”Tax Facts”,”baseDomain”:”www.thinkadvisor.com/tax-facts”,”presentedBy”:””,”uri”:”/tax-facts/2025/01/08/3511-what-are-the-payment-options-that-must-be-made-available-to-employees-on-fmla-leave/”,”title”:”3511 / What are the payment options that must be made available to employees on FMLA leave?”,”byline”:”John Manganaro”,”kicker”:””,”timeToRead”:”11 minute”,”authors”:[{“name”:”John Manganaro”,”webUrl”:”/author/profile/john-manganaro/”}],”kickerNode”:[],”categories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”allCategories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”prettyDate”:”January 08, 2025″,”pubDate”:”2025-01-08 08:35:59″,”prettyModifiedDate”:”January 27, 2025 at 01:29 PM”,”readtime”:”11″,”primaryCategory”:{“channelName”:””,”sectionName”:””,”uri”:””},”image”:{“uri”:”https://images.thinkadvisor.com/contrib/content/uploads/sites/415/2021/12/Curtis_Scott_Raymond-James_640x640.jpg”,”width”:”640″,”height”:”640″},”summary”:”

\n”,”breadcrumb”:[]},{“publication”:”Tax Facts”,”baseDomain”:”www.thinkadvisor.com/tax-facts”,”presentedBy”:””,”uri”:”/tax-facts/2025/01/08/3797-a-401k-plan-sponsor-distribute-a-former-participants-account-balance-without-consent-after-the-participant-separates-from-service/”,”title”:”3797.01 / Can a 401(k) plan sponsor distribute a former participant’s account balance without consent after the participant separates from service?”,”byline”:”John Manganaro”,”kicker”:””,”timeToRead”:”11 minute”,”authors”:[{“name”:”John Manganaro”,”webUrl”:”/author/profile/john-manganaro/”}],”kickerNode”:[],”categories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”allCategories”:[{“channelName”:”Recently Updated Q&As”,”sectionName”:””,”slug”:”recently-updated-q-and-as-tf”,”channelUri”:””}],”prettyDate”:”January 08, 2025″,”pubDate”:”2025-01-08 08:29:42″,”prettyModifiedDate”:”February 03, 2025 at 01:29 PM”,”readtime”:”11″,”primaryCategory”:{“channelName”:””,”sectionName”:””,”uri”:””},”image”:{“uri”:” SECURE 2.0, employer-sponsored plans can elect to include an automatic cash-out provision to distribute small retirement plan balances when the employee separates from service.
\n
\nQualified plans are not required to contain cash-out provisions that provide for immediate distribution of a participant’s benefits without the participant’s consent upon termination of participation if the value of the benefit is less than the statutory limit (under SECURE 2.0, $7,000 starting in 2024). Plans do have the option of adding a cash-out threshold if the threshold is not more than $7,000. If the threshold established is less than $1,000, the plan can merely cut a check for the participant’s balance.
\n
\nIf the account balance threshold established by the employer is $1,000 or higher, the plan must automatically roll the amounts over into an IRA in the former employee’s name (unless the former employee makes an affirmative election to receive the amount directly or have the amounts rolled over into another eligible retirement plan).
\n
\nThese transfers, known as \”auto-portability,\” involve three elements: (1) the original 401(k) plan that mandates these distributions (the \”transfer out\” plan), (2) a default IRA (in the participant’s name) that receives the distributed amount as a rollover and (3) a \”transfer-in\” plan sponsored by a new employer, which receives the rollover from the default IRA (only if it is determined that the participant has a new account with a new employer).
\n
\nUnder the DOL’s proposed regulations, plan sponsors will be required to search recordkeepers’ systems to determine whether the participant has established a new retirement account with a new employer.
\n
\nThe proposal would also impose regulations on any service providers associated with the auto-portability rules. While these service providers can rely on a new prohibited transaction exemption, they must also acknowledge their fiduciary status with respect to the IRA receiving the rollover distribution (in writing). Further, their fees must be reasonable and approved in writing by the employer-sponsored plan fiduciary.
\n
\nRelatedly, the Department of Labor has begun efforts to collect information to create the “missing participant database” mandated by the 2022 SECURE Act.  As of November 2024, the DOL is requesting that plans provide the name and social security number of participants who separated from service, are owed a benefit from a plan, and are age 65 or older. They are also requesting current contact information for the plan administrator so that individuals meeting these characteristics may contact the plan administrator.  The information collection completely voluntary.
\n
\nThe DOL has announced that a retirement plan sponsor will not violate their fiduciary responsibilities with respect to transfers of small retirement balances of missing plan participants if certain conditions are met.  The plan can transfer retirement benefit payments owed to a missing participant to a state unclaimed property fund if the present value of the participant’s or beneficiary’s vested benefit (including rollover contributions but excluding outstanding loan balances) does not exceed $1,000.  The plan sponsor must also determine that the state unclaimed property fund is a prudent destination for the funds and that the plan itself has implemented a prudent program to locate missing participants (consistent with DOL best practices guidance) yet has still been unable to locate the participant.  The transfer must be made to the unclaimed property fund in the state of the individual’s last known address and the unclaimed property fund must qualify as an eligible state fund (based on DOL criteria).  The plan must also include in its summary plan description disclosures of the fact that the funds will be transferred to an eligible state fund and the unclaimed property fund’s name, address, and phone number for further contact.¹
\n

“,”breadcrumb”:[]}]},”youmightlike”:[{“uri”:”/2025/07/24/one-big-beautiful-estate-planning-dilemma/”,”title”:”One Big Beautiful Estate Planning Dilemma”,”byline”:”Robin S. Weinberger and Peter N. Katz”,”prettyDate”:”July 24, 2025″,”readtime”:”4″,”image”:{“uri”:” exemption could stay high forever. That changes the planning math.”},{“uri”:”/2025/07/21/the-secs-fiduciary-interpretation-and-life-settlements/”,”title”:”The SEC’s Fiduciary Interpretation and Life Settlements”,”byline”:”Robin S. Weinberger and Peter N. 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