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Closely held businesses routinely use life insurance to fund buy-sell obligations when an owner dies. The logic is simple: the company or surviving owners need liquidity to effect redemptions or repurchases, and life...more
In the lifecycle of a closely held company—whether a limited liability company, a small corporation, or a joint-venture partnership—there are critical transitions that expose a business and its owners to considerable...more
Balancing numbers and relationships when business and family intersect. Family-owned businesses occupy a unique and vital space in the economy. They combine entrepreneurial drive with deep personal commitment and long-term...more
Founding a business with a partner is similar to getting married in many ways; it is a long-term commitment with your financial future and livelihood at stake. Unfortunately, business partners often stop getting along at...more
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Connelly v. United States, that the valuation of a decedent’s shares in a closely held corporation for federal estate tax purposes must include insurance proceeds received...more
Business divorces take place in all types of private companies, including those owned and operated by family members. But families that are willing to engage in thoughtful planning can head off some of the internal conflicts...more
Most closely held businesses, whether organized as a C or S corporation, LLC or partnership, have (or should have) a buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement addresses what happens to an owner’s interest in the business when...more
Improperly structured buy-sell agreements for closely held businesses will lead to an unexpected increase in the estate tax imposed on the estate of the deceased owner. The Supreme Court decision emphasizes the need for a...more
On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court held 9-to-0 in Connelly v. United States that company-owned life insurance increases the company’s fair market value for estate tax purposes, and the company’s obligation to redeem a...more
Connelly v. Internal Revenue Service is a landmark SCOTUS decision that will impact business owners, partners, shareholders, members, and professional practitioners from a business perspective, succession planning, as well as...more
On June 6, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in Connelly v. United States, affecting how life insurance proceeds are treated in buy-sell agreements for closely held corporations. The ruling states that...more
On June 6, 2024 the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that life insurance proceeds should be included in the fair market valuation of a corporation for federal estate tax purposes. In Connelly v. United States, the Supreme...more
In the recent case, Connelly v. United States, 602 U.S. (2024) (slip op.) the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that life insurance proceeds received by a closely held corporation which is used to fund the redemption of a...more
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States recently determined in Connelly v. U.S. that the value of a life insurance policy must be included in the fair market value of a closely held business for...more
Many co-owners of closely held businesses will employ life insurance as a tool for funding the transfer of ownership in the business upon the death or retirement of an owner. In these cases, planning involves the use of...more
You may have heard or even read about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding the date of death value of a deceased shareholder’s shares in a closely held corporation that owned a life insurance policy on the...more
Amidst many recent sharply divided decisions, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on June 6, 2024 issued a rare unanimous ruling in Connelly v. United States, which addressed estate tax considerations relative to...more
On June 6, 2024, in the case of Connelly v. United States, the United States Supreme Court determined that corporate-owned life insurance proceeds used to redeem a decedent’s shares in the corporation must be included when...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion regarding Connelly, as Executor of the Estate of Connelly v. United States. This final decision will directly impact all closely held business owners that...more
The Supreme Court has just weighed in on how gift and estate taxes apply with respect to non-cash gifts in Estate of Connelly v. United States. The Court’s opinion closely follows the economics of such arrangements, but...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling on June 6, 2024, clarifying the federal tax consequences of certain succession plans for closely held businesses. The Court held in Connelly v. United States,...more
In Connelly v. US, 602 US ___ (6/6/2024), the US Supreme Court affirmed a decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in favor of the government concerning the estate tax treatment of life insurance proceeds...more
All U.S. closely held businesses just received a warning from the highest court in the land that they should review their succession plans (or else risk a higher tax bill for the estates of their owners). On June 6, 2024, the...more
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Connelly v. United States will require closely-held business owners to reconsider their current buy-sell arrangement in order to avoid additional federal estate...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in in Connelly, As Executor of the Estate of Connelly v. United States, (602 US ________). The decision involves the application of the federal estate tax...more