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'
Non-Americans who wish to purchase U.S. real estate should be aware of the tax consequences of owning real estate here. George McCormick discusses these tax issues and steps to minimize their impact....more
The American housing market is grappling with escalating interest rates and limited inventory, pricing many Americans out of home ownership. Massachusetts’s senior Senator Elizabeth Warren seeks to address this issue in the...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 provided major changes to the Internal Revenue Code, specifically doubling the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption (collectively, the exemption) from...more
The number of taxpayers seeking the benefits of Qualified Small Business Stock (“QSBS”) has picked up steam in recent years, particularly since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) lowered the federal corporate tax rates to...more
Because each donor is treated as a separate party for tax and other purposes, donors often involve others in making gifts. For example, a donor might transfer assets to his or her spouse, so the spouse actually makes the gift...more
Gifting assets during life allows individuals to minimize their estate tax liabilities at death. Gifting is a strategy that can preserve wealth for future generations by minimizing estate taxes....more
With the exciting and long overdue news of the increase in the Massachusetts estate tax exemption from $1 million to $2 million for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2023, many Massachusetts residents have been left...more
Actor Will Rogers is widely credited with stating that “the only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn’t get worse every time Congress meets.” While most taxpayers fear tax laws changing for the worse, estate...more
There are more estate planning opportunities as a result of inflation-adjusted figures recently released by the IRS. The gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax exemption amounts are each increasing to...more
During 2022, COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, global inflation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the uncertainty about the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), and the Inflation Reduction Act...more
One can hardly miss the high levels of inflation currently affecting our economy. Even for those who do not pay close attention to the news, where inflation could hardly be more covered, the price of nearly everything for...more
You’ve likely spent most of your adult life accumulating wealth that you intend to eventually pass on to your loved ones. But are you concerned that the beneficiaries of your estate might squander their inheritance?...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
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
Last month, the House Ways & Means Committee (the "Committee") approved draft legislation (the “Legislation”) as part of Congress' ongoing $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation process. The Legislation includes significant tax...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
Providing for the educational needs of your children, grandchildren and even future generations is an honorable estate planning objective. What are your options for achieving this goal? A 529 plan can be a highly effective...more
Presented by Cohen Seglias attorney Whitney Patience O'Reilly on December 15, 2020. As we approach the end of the year, individuals face decisions about whether or not to gift money and the potential ramifications for any...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
Peter, Paul, and Mary have done well for themselves. Each has a nice home, a seasonal residence, and a large IRA. Coincidentally, each also has an additional $11 million worth of real estate, savings, brokerage accounts, and...more
Many estate planning provisions of the Internal Revenue Code contain brackets, exemptions, exclusions, deductions, or other figures that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) adjusts annually for inflation. Recently, the IRS...more
Do you know the differences in estate tax law for couples when both spouses are U.S. citizens vs. when one spouse is a non-U.S. citizen? Or what nonlegal document should accompany a will? We are pleased to present the...more
In 2018, each person has a lifetime gift tax exemption of $11,180,000 and a lifetime generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption amount of $11,180,000. In addition to these lifetime exemption amounts, a donor may make...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Act), passed at the end of 2017 by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017, provides far-reaching changes to the federal tax landscape. Much has been written regarding...more