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'
Married couples often have wills naming one another as their primary beneficiary. People also often name their spouse as beneficiary of retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Upon commencing a divorce action,...more
Isn’t it interesting that success is built into business succession. Still, most US companies do not have a business succession plan in place. What is business succession planning and how does it enhance your own success and...more
What is the importance of succession planning for business owners? Why should you be concerned about the development and implementation of succession planning if you own a business or a significant interest in an LLC, S...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
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
In the recent case of Schaddelee as Cotrustee of Ronald Schaddelee Irrevocable Trust v. Deleon as Cotrustee of Ronald Schaddelee Irrevocable Trust, 2023 WL 4143639 (Mich Ct App Jun 22, 2023) (unpublished), the Michigan Court...more
Perhaps you drafted your will years ago and it references many of your existing assets, including retirement plan accounts and life insurance policies. But you also have paperwork on file with the applicable financial...more
A friend, family member, or client has just created an irrevocable trust naming you as the trustee, and you may be asking yourself, “What do I do now?” Serving as a trustee comes with a lot of responsibility. Here are a few...more
Most of you know by now that I grew up in the Panama Canal Zone which no longer exists as of 1999. In that respect, the transition left me as a man without a country. My father (of blessed memory) when referring to kids...more
Presented by Cohen Seglias associate Whitney Patience O'Reilly on October 22, 2020. An often overlooked but important aspect of estate planning is the designation of beneficiaries—both primary and contingent—on life...more
We previously reported on the New Jersey Supreme Court’s ruling on the validity of stranger-originated life insurance (STOLI) policies in the June 2019 issue of Expect Focus — Life, Annuity, and Retirement Solutions....more
You have planned your life carefully. With your spouse you have drawn up a will and established trusts to organize your estate after your deaths. You have made decisions about the guardianship of your children should anything...more
If you are a US citizen and your spouse or civil partner is not you need to ensure you have appropriate estate planning in place to avoid your heirs getting an unexpected tax bill following your death. In this guide we...more
Supreme Court Ruling in North Carolina Department of Revenue v. Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust, 588 U.S. [TBD] and its Relevance to Income Taxation of Accumulated Income in California Trusts - The Supreme Court...more
An estate planning rule of thumb is to review (and, if necessary, revise) one’s estate plan in light of major life events. Such events include a marriage, birth of a child and a divorce. A second marriage also calls for an...more
It is speculated that Choupette Lagerfeld, the pampered Parisian pet of the iconic late German fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld, may have a stake in Lagerfeld’s vast fortune....more
Divorce or separation agreements often require one spouse to maintain life insurance as security for their support obligation. Attorneys often do not address the tax implications if the insured spouse owns the policy. ...more