Introduction - The favorable tax treatment provided by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, combined with historically low interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, has resulted in tremendous wealth transfer planning opportunities....more
The IRS recently issued Notice 2017-15 to provide same-sex spouses relief to recalculate the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax treatment of gifts and bequests made before the Defense of Marriage...more
The IRS has issued final regulations clarifying the definitions of “spouse,” “husband,” “wife,” and “husband and wife” for federal tax purposes. The final regulations now define “spouse,” “husband” and “wife” as any...more
IRS regulations anticipated for release as early as this September may further restrict valuation discounts. The exact scope of the regulations is unknown, but the regulations will likely make it more difficult for taxpayers...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear four cases from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, respectively, regarding the constitutionality of same-sex marriage bans by the states. ...more
To date, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to rule on the constitutionality of state laws banning same-sex marriage. Even in the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in U.S. v. Windsor, the U.S. Supreme Court left to the...more
Decanting refers to the distribution of trust property of one trust (the “first trust”) to another trust (the “second trust”). Over the past several years, the number of states specifically authorizing decanting by statute...more
U.S. public charities are blessed, but also challenged, by a relative lack of regulation governing their grants to foreign persons and foreign entities.
U.S. public charities are blessed by this lack of regulation...more
Trustees are often granted the power to distribute trust property “in the Trustee’s discretion” for a beneficiary’s “general well-being,” “best interests,” “comfort,” or, most commonly, “health, education, maintenance and...more
S corporation shareholders must be careful not to inadvertently terminate their closely held company’s S election when engaging in estate planning....more
The Supreme Court has held that the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional. DOMA defined “marriage” and “spouse” to the exclusion of same-sex partners for purposes of federal law....more
Irrevocable trusts are now subject to varying degrees of amendment by court approved modifications, trust protector actions, private settlement agreements, and, of course, decanting....more