The Informed Board Podcast | CEO Succession Planning on a Clear Day
Succession Planning to Safeguard Your Law Firm’s Future: On Record PR
Law Brief ®: Alan Gaynor and Richard Schoenstein Explore Business Divorce
Episode 8: Minority Oppression in the LLC: Interview With Professor Douglas Moll
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
Many of us have encountered variations of the following scenario: a parent owns and operates a business; one or more of their children are employed in the business; as the children mature and become more experienced and...more
To avoid the manipulation of tax consequences to which transactions between certain related taxpayers may be susceptible, the IRS and the Courts generally require that such transactions be closely scrutinized to ensure that...more
“It’s My Business”- The owner of a closely held business will often find it difficult to distinguish the business from their own person. That is certainly true for a sole proprietorship. In many cases, unfortunately, the...more
“Would I ever leave this company? Look, I’m all about loyalty. In fact, I feel like part of what I’m being paid for here is my loyalty. But if there were somewhere else that valued loyalty more highly, I’m going wherever they...more
Timing- I had planned to post this piece during the third week of December, a day or so after the exchange between Senator Manchin and the White House sealed the fate of the Build Back Better plan, at least in its current...more
Same old in D.C.- On Monday, November 15, the President will sign into law the approximately $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was finally passed by Congress when the House approved the Senate’s...more
What A Ride- No one anticipated that the Administration’s proposed tax increases would fly through Congress easily – at least no one residing in a state in which the recreational use of marijuana has not been legalized....more
Recap- Last week, we considered several of the revenue proposals included in the Biden Administration’s 2022 Budget that are probably of interest – or should we say, “of concern”? – to the owners of closely held...more
Something Is Rotten- There’s a gray pall hanging over New York that has clouded the judgement of many politicians, and has left many of its residents feeling anxious and off-balance. No, it’s not the smoke from all the...more
I had a call a couple of weeks ago from the owner of a business. His brother, who owned half of the business, owed some money to someone in connection with a venture that was unrelated to the business. The brother didn’t have...more
In 2016, we continued to experience a period of relative stability in our federal transfer tax system and have been able to plan without expecting imminent significant changes to the system. Under the American Taxpayer Relief...more
Shareholders, Partners and/or LLC members of any closely-held or family-held company should check the buy-sell formula contained in their Shareholder Agreement (sometimes called a Buy-Sell Agreement), Partnership Agreement or...more
For family business owners who desire to transfer ownership of part of their business to the next generation, the valuation of the business interest is often an important factor to consider. This is especially true for family...more
Partnerships and LLCs are common choices of entity for family-owned businesses, due to their flexibility and the many uses to which they can be put – including pooling of family assets, succession planning, asset protection,...more
After years of anticipation, the U.S. IRS recently issued Proposed Treasury Regulations that would, if enacted in their current form, substantially eliminate most valuation discounts for family-controlled entities and result...more
It's August of an election---year, and not just any election---year, a presidential election year. So, in less than 80 days, we'll all go to the polls and elect a new president. While Benjamin Franklin might have been right...more
The ability to use transfer and liquidation restrictions in legal documents to reduce the value of an interest in a family-controlled (or “closely-held”) business entity (e.g., partnership, corporation, limited liability...more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury unveiled its long-awaited proposed regulations targeting valuation discounts commonly used in estate planning, thereby overturning decades of settled law. As drafted,...more
On August 2, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations that would severely limit valuation discounts for lack of marketability and lack of control that taxpayers have historically applied for federal gift,...more
Business Owners May Have Little Time to Act Before Rules Are Finalized - The valuation of a family member's interest in a family business has a major impact on the success or failure of a transfer of such interest to...more
The proposed regulations disregard restrictions that have been used by valuation experts and acknowledged by the courts to reduce valuations. If you are an owner of a closely held entity, recently proposed Treasury...more
On August 2, 2016, the Treasury Department released proposed regulations amending and expanding upon the current regulations to Internal Revenue Code Section 2704. The proposed regulations, if adopted, would affect the...more
Historically, the IRS has closely scrutinized transfers of interests in family-owned entities between family members. In particular, it has sought to curtail the use of discounts to decrease the estate and gift tax value of...more
The Department of the Treasury wants to place limitations on valuation discounts that are currently commonly used to reduce asset values in family-owned and closely-held businesses, in an effort to increase tax revenue. The...more