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A meaningful wealth planning strategy embodies your vision, hopes, and personality, all to ensure you are financially well situated over your lifetime. By developing a solid blueprint, you can provide yourself and your loved ones with a secure future. First, begin with making sure your foundation is strong, then ask yourself what you are trying to achieve with your wealth. From there, gather and consider the different building blocks you have to work with.

Over the past decade, the Tennessee legislature has taken significant actions to provide a more practical statutory framework for trust administration. With the latest enhancements to the Tennessee's Uniform Trust Code, key revisions include changes to petition for approval of final accounting, discharge of fiduciary liability upon change of trustee or termination of trust, and liberalization of technical aspects of trust decanting.

New regulations proposed by the IRS seek to address the basic exclusion amount for estate and gift taxes which was doubled in 2017 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The doubling of the exemption is scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2026. When this occurs, how can a donor lock in the increased exemption for years 2018 through 2025? New proposed regulations issued April 27, 2022, provide some insights to possible solutions.

Non-fungible Tokens (NFT) now represent a broad class of investments, from collectibles to more financial-type assets. As the applications advance, the existing consensus on the tax treatment of NFTs may change. While there is limited guidance from the IRS, there are considerations for creators and investors to keep in mind.

The Biden administration’s fiscal year 2023 budget blueprint that was released on March 28, and it consisted of a mix of familiar proposals and brand-new initiatives that reflect the President’s policy objectives. The familiar included calls for increasing the top corporate tax rate to 28% and the individual rate to 39.6%. Among the new proposals, the minimum tax on high-net-worth individuals has garnered considerable attention. These proposals, as well as others that have not been closely scrutinized, are described in this report.

After more than a decade of record low interest rates, the combination of inflation and increasing interest rates has investors jittery; however, it also presents an opportunity for high-net-worth individuals to review and adjust their existing strategies for estate planning, business planning, financial planning, and wealth management.

A best-in-class family office tax function goes beyond preparing timely tax returns to drive tax strategy and reduce the overall income, gift, and estate tax burden across generations. Given the role taxes have on most families, it’s imperative for the family office to ensure it has the proper infrastructure and resources to understand, plan, and strategize from both the tax planning and compliance standpoint. Best practices are provided to help strengthen your family office’s tax capabilities.

Creating an enduring financial legacy becomes more challenging with each branch that is added to the family tree through marriage. With divorce rates at a high level, it is important for families to understand the wealth management considerations related to marriage and take a proactive approach to planning for changes to their family dynamics.

Too often, taxes are only thought of once or twice a year, but the reality is that an effective tax plan is considered year-round and on a multi-year basis. Tim Steffen, Baird’s Director of Tax Planning, shares his insights on common tax planning misconceptions, when and why to consider tax planning, and how to respond to legislative changes to the tax code.

Compound growth over time—uneroded by taxes—is key to amassing substantial wealth, and that’s where dynasty trusts come in. It’s designed to minimize taxes over multiple generations. When done correctly, dynasty trusts can leave an enduring and significant financial legacy for generations to come.