John Wick - What You Need To Know about the Corporate Transparency Act
Top Gun: Maverick - Core Estate Plan and Gifting Basics
5 Tips For Writing Conflict Emails
Family Owned Real Estate: Legal Challenges & Opportunities
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Estate Planning and the Corporate Transparency Act
US Expatriate Tax Planning - Part 2 - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 20: Helping a Beneficiary Purchase a Home
Once Removed Episode 23: Naming Guardians for Minor Children
Once Removed Episode 22: Building Flexibility into the Estate Plan
Once Removed Episode 24: Expressing Goals and Intent for the Trust
Once Removed Episode 21: Passing Down the “Family Cottage” or Other Legacy Property
US Expatriate Tax Planning - Part 1 - A Podcast with Janathan Allen
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: Planning for Influencers
Was the classic song “Over The Rainbow” plagiarized? How about a claim of copyright infringement against the script for “The Holdovers?” AI Legal strategies switch to claims of CMI removal
Once Removed Episode 18: The Reciprocal Trust Doctrine
Next Generation Legacy Management - The Essence of Developing, Managing and Implementing a Plan for Future Generations
Life After Love Gone Wrong Podcast: Season 3, Episode 6 - Reshaping Your Legacy: Estate Planning After Your Divorce
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
Digital Planning Podcast Episode: AI Developments - Planning & Practice Considerations
As 2024 quickly comes to a close, the new year will bring a change in the presidency, a new Congress, and potential changes to policies and laws that could impact individuals of all wealth levels. Going into the election,...more
In financial services and specifically wealth advisory, success is often measured by the growth of assets under management and the ability to navigate challenging market conditions. For David and Katie Witter, founders of...more
This year was busy for trusts and estates practitioners. With 2025 marking the final year of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many of its implications for federal corporate and individual income tax, gift, estate and...more
Trustees have many duties, including the duty of loyalty, the duty to invest prudently, and the duty of impartiality to all beneficiaries. Trustees must also effectuate the wishes of the trust’s settlor. These duties often...more
December 2024 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts - The December Section 7520 rate for use in estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs,...more
Marital estate rights create the potential for catastrophic consequences should a spouse pass away at a time when the parties are physically separated but have not yet signed a separation agreement or been granted a divorce....more
Why do estate planners — traditionally non-litigating attorneys — sometimes end up in litigation? The mindset of an estate planner is about helping people. You work to help clients make and carry out major life...more
When crafting an individual estate plan, you should consider whether a Revocable Trust is right for you. Below is an analysis of an artificial fact pattern and the estate plan I would recommend based on that fact pattern....more
A wealthy man with four adult children, three daughters and a son, left millions to his daughters when he died, but nothing for his son. Was that the father’s intention? The answer came after much acrimonious litigation...more
I think it’s fair to say that when people think about the term “estate planning” (if they ever really think about it that is), they associate it with lawyers and courts and the classic “reading of the Will” fable, which of...more
Estate planning is an essential process which can ensure that your wealth is distributed appropriately after you pass. Every estate planning attorney’s goal is to assist clients to protect their assets, instead of allowing...more
Changing tax laws, political uncertainty, and the whole family at Thanksgiving can take us on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. But savvy business owners (and their estate planning counsel) know that – in the end –...more
If you are at least 70 ½ years old and you have a traditional IRA, you can donate up to $105,000 directly from your IRA account to charity. This direct transfer, called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), avoids having...more
The Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (the Heirs Act) was originally enacted in New York in December 2019 to protect heirs of real property from being forced to sell their property at auction. The Act was most recently...more
Most people take steps to maintain good health, including scheduling annual checkups with their doctors to confirm there are no immediate or long-term health concerns. This checkup could include a stress test, which lets you...more
Generally, under New York EPTL 5-1.1-A, if a decedent is survived by a spouse, a right of election is given to the surviving spouse to take a share of the decedent's estate “equal to the greater of (i) fifty thousand dollars...more
The clock is ticking—just 49 days remain until the one-year filing deadline for the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA)! Entities established before January 1, 2024, must submit a beneficial owner information report (BOIR) by...more
Recently, a magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Texas recommended granting an insurer’s motion for summary judgment, holding that an insured’s claims for statutory interest and attorneys’ fees under Chapter 542 of...more
Non-Americans who wish to purchase U.S. stocks and other financial assets should be aware of the tax consequences of investing here. George McCormick discusses this issue and more....more
The Internal Revenue Service recently announced the 2025 cost of living adjustments for the estate and gift tax exclusion amounts. The Gift Tax Exclusion Amount is the amount an individual may gift to any number of persons...more
When the King of Pop passed away in 2009, he left behind more than just a rich legacy of music and pop culture. He also left behind a colossal estate that soon became entangled in one of the most scrutinized, drawn-out...more
“Quality family time” is a phrase often heard in the period from Thanksgiving to New Year’s, sometimes even with air quotes, to describe what many people believe to be a necessary, but not necessarily enjoyable, time of...more
In 2018, as part of the “Trump tax cuts,” the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption was increased to $11,180,000, with annual increases for inflation. Today, the exemption stands at...more
In recent years, LGBTQ+ individuals have seen an unprecedented rollback of many of their basic civil rights at the state and federal levels. There are several steps LGBTQ+ Iowans and others can take to protect themselves and...more