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
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
Because so many things can change with time, we recommend that our clients review their estate plans every three to five years and update plans as needed. These periodic reviews help to ensure that your affairs are in order,...more
Earlier this week the White House released its Fiscal Year 2025 Budget. Of course, the federal government has not yet adopted a budget for the Fiscal Year 2024 even as we approach that year’s halfway mark. But I digress. The...more
Revocable trusts - Don’t forget to fund the trust throughout your lifetime - Many estate plans are built around revocable trusts (sometimes called “living trusts”). These trusts allow you to 1) avoid the time, expense...more
There are numerous benefits of using trusts in your estate plan. For example, trusts can maximize the tax code provisions shielding assets from gift and estate taxes, protect assets from the clutches of creditors or...more
When we think about making plans to secure our future, generally the discussions revolve around education, career, family, and finances. Creating a comprehensive estate plan, including effective advanced directives, can elude...more
What This Means for Your Current Will, Revocable Trust and Estate Plan - The estate and gift tax regimes have been permanent and unified since the passage of The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “2012 Act”). In...more
Did you know that actions can be taken after you die (i.e., post-mortem) to achieve the best results possible for your testamentary plan? Some estate plans are intentionally structured to give your beneficiaries and your...more
Family wineries face certain common issues when it comes to succession planning, and there are steps you can take to help ensure the longevity and success of your brand and business. Step 1 – Develop a Plan - Benjamin...more
Preparing for 2026 - Four ways to build flexibility into your estate plan - January 1, 2026, is a significant date for estate planning. On that day, the federal gift and estate tax exemption amount set by the Tax Cuts...more
Oh, the things you hear at cocktail parties: “Everyone should have a revocable trust,” “It’s easy to change your residence to Florida for tax purposes – just count days and get a Florida license,” “Make all your trusts...more
Trusts come in many variations, rendering them often difficult for non-attorneys to follow and comprehend. Indeed, this variation can often be seen in the nomenclature used for trust arrangements, which includes terms such...more
The Key Person- The closely held corporation is often a fragile creature. Too often, its continued success and well-being are overly dependent upon the continued involvement of one individual – namely, the founder and...more
What happened: Fester Addams, a wealthy bachelor, wants nothing more than to find a great love like that between his older brother Gomez and his wife Morticia, but he is too trusting and easily mislead. Following the...more
You may have already recognized the benefits of using a living trust. Typically, this trust type makes sense if you’re looking to preserve assets for other family members without dire tax consequences or to avoid probate. But...more
During COVID, many of us are balancing working remotely while caring for our children. This autumn, most of our children are returning to part-time or all remote school. We are using our residences as a home, office, and...more
Woe to Us? We live in strange times. The coronavirus pandemic hit the United States hard, the scientific community fears a second round later this year, and there have been wildly differing estimates over when an...more
This is a surrealistic time for most of us, but we will come out on the “other side” and we still need to plan for the future. We should continue to take at least basic steps to plan our estates, like preparing wills and/or...more
The current state of affairs reminds all of us that we live in a time of uncertainty. We must be mindful that estate plans are fluid and need to be altered to reflect current realities. Now, more than ever, clients should be...more
May 2020 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts AFRs - Important federal interest rates continued to drop significantly for May of 2020. The...more
Assisting Your Clients in the COVID-19 World - Dear Advisors: We at Proskauer wish you health and safety during these tumultuous times. It is our hope that you are handling this new reality with as much normalcy as is...more
Q: What is estate planning? Johanna Wise Sullivan: Estate planning entails planning for the care of your family and your assets in the event of your death or incapacity as efficiently and seamlessly as possible. This includes...more
Blank Rome’s annual estate and tax planning newsletter addresses certain concepts and techniques that should be considered in 2020 by our clients and friends in California. Perhaps the most important and troublesome...more
October 2019 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts - The October Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs,...more
As estate planners, we have seen it all over the years. What we have learned is that people make some common mistakes. Whether due to procrastination, lack of follow through, or ignoring their own mortality! This article...more