Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Once Removed Episode 18: The Reciprocal Trust Doctrine
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
Once Removed Episode 16: Gift and Estate Tax, Inflation Adjustments for 2024
Once Removed Episode 17: Annual Gifting to Individuals: Options, Opportunities and Pitfalls
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Once Removed Episode 10: Trustee Removal and Case Update on Leo Kahn Revocable Trust
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
The Renoir Spelling Bee
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
RETURN TO FOREVER - What Game Shall We Play Today?
To Give or Not to Give: Considerations for Year-End Gifting
INTRODUCING MALTA SPLIT DOLLAR
THE PAPER CHASE
With a Little Help from My Friends
The Greatest Gift: Your Individual + Family Estate Plan
Financial markets, political moods, and the world-at-large can take us on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. But savvy investors (and their estate planning counsel) know that – in the end – neither the bears nor bulls...more
Our annual estate and tax planning newsletter discusses certain concepts and techniques that should be considered in 2022 by our clients and friends in California. Perhaps the most important recent development was the failure...more
It was quite a week, wasn’t it?- Manchin- Senator Manchin continued to attract a lot of attention. To the dismay of his fellow Democrats, the West Virginian – who also chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources...more
The House Committee on Ways and Means has proposed a tax plan intended to fund President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" $3.5 trillion infrastructure program. Among the many changes in this proposed tax plan are three that...more
As many people are aware, Congress is considering changes to the federal tax code to support President Biden’s Build Back Better spending plan. As of this writing, on September 22, 2021, no bill has been enacted....more
You have probably heard that the House Ways and Means Committee released proposals for increasing gift and estate taxes in order support legislation being advanced by the Democratic majority in Congress. ...more
Recent news stories have been published about two bills introduced in the Senate that, if enacted, could have a significant impact on many estate plans. These bills include proposed changes that many estate planning...more
On March 25, 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the For the 99.5 Percent Act (the “99.5 Percent Act”) which proposes to modify the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax. Proposed Estate and Gift Tax Rates...more
On March 25, 2021, Senator Bernie Sanders introduced legislation called “For the 99.5% Act.” This bill is aimed at the fortunes of the top 0.5% of wealthy Americans. ...more
With a new Administration in town there are rumors everywhere about the “new Estate Taxes” and the “Loss of our Tax Exemptions”. What should you expect? What should you do to plan and prepare for possible changes?...more
In 2020, COVID-19, the US presidential election, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the TCJA), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the CARES ACT) dominated the planning landscape....more
Now may be an opportune time to gift assets out of your estate, particularly through an estate planning technique known as the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (“GRAT“)—a small silver lining of the alarming pandemic and down...more
It has been said that you can predict anything but the future. So it is with estate and tax planning. That being said, let’s look to see what some of the tax law changes might be in 2021 and beyond....more
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives and shifted our priorities in an unprecedented manner. Against this backdrop of uncertainty, though, opportunities in estate planning abound. Basic planning documents, such as...more
The current estate planning environment, with low interest rates and high estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions, provides excellent planning opportunities for wealth transfer tax savings. ...more
On December 22, 2017, the President signed a major change to federal tax law that contains many provisions affecting individuals, estates, and trusts. While the impetus behind the change was simplification, as some unnamed...more
December Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts - The December § 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs...more
In 2016, we continued to experience a period of relative stability in our federal transfer tax system and have been able to plan without expecting imminent significant changes to the system. Under the American Taxpayer Relief...more
I. INTRODUCTION - This outline is a selective and evolving review of the history of the modern federal estate tax. It originated during the attempts to repeal the estate tax in President Clinton’s second term and...more