Beginning January 1, 2022, Washington state will impose a 7 percent capital gains tax on annual long-term capital gains that exceed a $250,000 annual threshold. Individuals subject to the tax are Washington state residents,...more
This March, we celebrate Women's Month, an annually declared month that highlights the contributions of women today and throughout history, making their marks across sectors and in all industries. It is clear that the power...more
Current high estate tax exemption amounts, low interest rates, and decreased company valuations have many family business owners scrambling to make gifts of ownership interests or close other succession planning transactions...more
The current combination of some of the lowest interest rates in history, high federal gift tax exemptions, and lower asset values creates a unique planning opportunity for those family business owners who wish to engage in...more
Thinking about retirement? It’s important to get started on family business succession issues early, even as many as 10 years or more before you are ready to retire. ...more
As 2019 comes to a close and an election year looms, family businesses should consider how politics may impact their reputation and operations. Private political discourse among family members is one thing, but public...more
Washington State does not have "common law marriage" but it does have a now well-developed (yet still evolving) body of law on "equity relationships" or "committed intimate relationships." ...more
When Congress enacted tax reform in December 2017, federal gift and estate tax “basic exclusion amount” (often referred to as the “gift and estate tax exemption”) increased to $10 million per person (from $5 million), indexed...more
More and more family owned businesses, from the largest to the smallest, are engaging in philanthropy....more
You have spent a substantial portion of your life building or continuing a successful family business, and you have some children (or other family members) who are active in the business and others who are not. How do you...more
As promised, below is a follow-up to my February 29th post. There, I discussed estate tax planning. Below, I want to introduce generation skipping tax planning, using some similar tools.
As of 2016, each person has a...more
As of 2016, each person has an aggregate $5.45 million exemption from the federal gift and estate taxes. This exemption can be used either during lifetime or at death (or both, if not all of it is used for lifetime gifts)....more
In late 2012, researchers Nicolas Kachaner, George Stalk and Alain Bloch at the Harvard Business School published a study to compare family-owned businesses of certain sizes and industries with their non-family-owned...more