John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Next Generation Legacy Management - The Essence of Developing, Managing and Implementing a Plan for Future Generations
A Primer On Trusts - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 13: It’s 5 o’Clock: Do You Know Where Your Will Is? A Lesson From Aretha Franklin
Charitable Bequests With Guest Stephanie Hood
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Family Office Technology Solutions
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
What is a self-proving affidavit?
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
Basics of Estate Planning
The Case of the Disappearing Trust
Protecting Your Estate Plan from Challenges: No-Contest Clause Explained
The Secret Child
Welcome to 'Splitting Heirs'
If you are in the process of long-term estate planning or updating an existing estate plan, the process for passing assets and accounts to your heirs is about to become much more difficult and expensive. Presently, each...more
As the ball drops in Times Square on December 31, 2024, many of the tax breaks established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 will disappear. While the TCJA made some permanent tax cuts, a number of tax cuts and...more
McDermott’s Private Client Practice led interactive discussions on a broad range of topics pertinent to ultra-high-net-worth families, their family office representatives and other advisors at our Private Client West Coast...more
What are the most important elements of estate and tax planning for US expatriates? Are you planning to move out of the United States? Are you a US taxpayer who lives and works outside of the country? What are some of the...more
Today is the anniversary of the largest Powerball lottery victory in the United States of $2.04 billion. Just over the $1.765 billion jackpot claimed last month (Oct 2023). What are some tax tips for lottery winners and...more
Grantor trusts allow for tax deductions on income generated by trust assets whereas non-grantor trusts do not allow for these deductions. It is crucial for people to carefully decide which type of trust is best for their...more
The UK’s First-tier Tribunal (“FTT”) has denied a taxpayer a deduction for contributions to a remuneration trust on the basis that such payments did not give rise to an expense under generally accepted accounting principles...more
A recent tax court case serves as a stern reminder to practitioners that (1) in order for a trust to qualify as a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT), the trust’s governing instrument must unambiguously provide for a...more
At the end of the year, many people think about giving to charities, especially people who are seeking additional tax deductions. In fact, statistics show that as much as 30% of charitable giving is done in the last month of...more
The year-end is approaching, but you still have time to work on your 2022 tax planning. Consider giving to your favorite charity to make this holiday season merry. Planned charitable giving provides you a way to maximize...more
When you first dipped your toes into estate planning, you were probably told to start with a legally valid will, above everything else. Check. Next, you may have been advised to create an estate plan that incorporates your...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
...The federal tax laws are certainly about to change. With the need to raise revenue as a top priority for the Biden Administration, everyone is expecting dramatic changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Tax legislation is...more
In this second blog post on the House Ways and Means Tax proposals, we address the proposed changes that will affect the taxation of trusts, estates, and retirement plans. As we discussed, on September 13, 2021, the...more
House Democrats recently released additional legislative proposals that, if passed, would affect several commonly used estate planning techniques. Among those proposals are three that would significantly impact some of the...more
On 4 May 2021, Governor Inslee signed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5096 (the Act), establishing a state-level tax on long-term capital gains for Washingtonians, beginning 1 January 2022....more
As a result of Governor Jay Inslee signing S.B. 5096 on May 4, 2021, Washington state will begin imposing a 7 percent tax on certain long-term capital gains beginning January 1, 2022. For a detailed overview of the new law,...more
The Washington Legislature passed Senate Bill 5096 on April 25, 2021, the last day of the 2021 Washington legislative session. SB 5096 is a state capital gains tax on individual residents of the State of Washington. The state...more
As the holiday season approaches, people are thinking about giving to charitable organizations. As a donor, you can be both philanthropic and tax-efficient in your charitable giving. Estate Planning - One way to give is...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
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (or SECURE Act), signed into law on December 20, 2019, changes retirement planning significantly and unexpectedly. The bulk of the changes become effective as of...more
Charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) have been around for decades, and they continue to be a viable estate planning strategy in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and other recent tax legislation. This article details how a...more
The new limitation of the federal deduction for state income taxes to $10,000 has heightened interest in planning for state income taxes. Thoughtful practitioners who assist clients in establishing non-grantor trusts should...more
On January 18, 2019, Treasury and the IRS issued final regulations for the new Section 199A 20% profit deduction for pass-thru businesses adopted under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts. The new regulations are eagerly...more
The Department of Justice has finally filed a civil complaint against certain promoters who have been spearheading syndicated easements to the tune of over $2 billion in claimed federal tax deductions using grossly inflated...more