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The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act left many of the rules and laws pertaining to retirement planning unchanged. However, the Act did change the tax landscape for many by lowering overall tax rates for individuals and businesses and changing deductions. Given this new landscape, there are additional opportunities and new twists for taxpayers to be mindf...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created a new tax incentive, the Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF), designed to encourage long-term investment in low income communities. The QOF has stirred substantial investor excitement, but the lack of guidance before the issuance of the Proposed Regulations has frustrated the investment bankers ...

For the investors who like the tax benefits of Section 1031 (aka “Like-Kind”) Exchanges, they should consider a new option for sheltering real estate capital gains: Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds (QOZF). These funds have arisen as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which designated Qualified Opportunity Zone...

Is philanthropy one of your top priorities? One way to make your estate plan more philanthropic is through a Charitable Remainder Trust (sometimes called a CRT, CRUT, or CRAT, depending on the form it takes). The Trust is created until the end of the trust term or the death of the last beneficiary. At the end of the trust, whatever is left over (th...

Families with complex assets, such as family businesses, as well as those who have portfolios managed by multiple advisors, may find trustees reluctant to administer their trusts. This is because, in many states, the trustees remain liable for the actions of delegated third-parties or even named advisors. Delaware directed trusts can alleviate this...

The U.S. Supreme Court will revisit state tax nexus for the second year in a row after granting North Carolina’s petition for certiorari in North Carolina Department of Revenue v. The Kimberley Rice Kaestner 1992 Family Trust (Docket No. 18-457). Kaestner and Fielding could have significant implications on the state taxation of trusts. All multista...

Irrevocable trusts have been part of estate planning for years. They have been used for a variety of purposes, such as to remove assets from a person’s estate in order to reduce taxes, to protect assets from creditors, and to provide management of assets for beneficiaries. However, many do not like the idea that the trust is irrevo...

Individuals with disabilities and their families have many options to set aside funds without jeopardizing eligibility for means-tested government benefits, but most of the options require the person with a disability to lose control over his or her own money. With the Stephen J. Beck Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act, people with disab...

For companies doing business in multiple states, determining state tax responsibilities has always been a challenge. However, 2018 was a notably busy year. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brought federal legislation that left states needing to react quickly, and with tax reform 2.0 looming, the challenges are not over. In our state tax recap, we e...

The passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in 2017 overhauled several cornerstones of the Internal Revenue Code and introduced new tax law, including section 1400Z-1 and section 1400Z-2 which address the qualified opportunity zones (QOZs). The business community, specifically real estate investors, has viewed the QOZ as a possible turbocharged...

Investments into qualified Opportunity Zone Funds offer attractive tax benefits, while catalyzing capital inflows into economically distressed communities. However, prudence is necessary in evaluating these investment opportunities as they come to market. The tax benefits will not outweigh the negative consequences of a bad investment. While the pr...

After looking at the potential pitfalls in Part 1 of this multipart series on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, we turn to Part 2: the Income Tax Opportunities. Regardless of your net worth, the temporary increase in the federal tax exemption has made possible certain strategies that could significantly reduce capital gains tax and allow...

The new year brings new tax-savings opportunities, including larger tax exemptions and exclusions. Here are some strategies and tips to consider in your tax planning this year, as well as the Federal Estate and Gift Tax Exemption/Exclusion Levels for Individuals and 2019 Federal Income Tax Brackets charts.

Taxpayers who have identified opportunities to take advantage of the increased gift tax exemption before 2026, but have been hesitant to do so because of the risk of clawback, now find themselves on firmer ground for moving forward with those plans. However, with all of the ways and means of using the exemption, what should they do ... and why? We ...

Family governance need not be an oxymoron. A conscious family governance system can help create an efficient and rewarding means of ensuring the family enterprise’s viability for generations to come. Therefore, any family enterprise that seeks to maintain and grow its wealth—financial, human, social, and intellectual—should consider creating a...