According to some people, the bypass trust (sometimes referred to as a credit shelter trust) has gone the way of the dodo bird in the current estate tax environment. However, this “dinosaur” of a technique for married couples...more
Trusts serve a variety of tax, asset protection and estate planning purposes for families, and over the years different types of trusts have evolved to best serve families’ planning needs and objectives. Each type of trust...more
It’s not enough for the founder of a closely held business to have successfully established the business. The business has to grow, not only to increase profits, but also to make it more competitive and to diversify its...more
To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reported demise of the bypass trust may be greatly exaggerated. In fact, this estate planning technique is still a viable option for many individuals and may actually stage a “revival” in future...more
California Proposition 19, which appeared on the November 3, 2020, ballot, appears likely to pass. The measure currently has a 51.1% “Yes” vote, although all votes have not been counted and the results of the election have...more
Congress's recent increase in the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer ("GST") tax exemption to $10 million per person adjusted annually for inflation ($11.18 million in 2018) is a welcome sweetener for many...more
Even though reforms being debated by Congress could repeal the federal estate tax with certain modifications, state estate taxes might still siphon off hundreds of thousands of dollars regardless of what happens under federal...more
A once-popular estate planning tool included in many Last Wills and Revocable Trusts may now cost families more in taxes than it saves. Changes in the federal estate tax have made the "bypass trust" which was often included...more
Prior to the recent and significant increases in the federal estate tax exemption amount, many clients engaged in planning the purpose of which was to ensure the use of both spouses’ exemption amount through the use of a...more