Search Results

When families gather at their cottages or vacation properties, the senior generation might think how nice it would be for these multi-generational gatherings to continue after they pass. But before designing an estate plan to address the future generations’ continued use and enjoyment of this property, there are two important questio...

Once a family has made a decision to pass the ownership of family cottage or vacation property to the next generation, you will need to give thought to how that ownership will be held. There are basically three options for the form of ownership and use of a cottage by multiple households of a family: co-tenancy, a trust, or a limited liability comp...

Once you have decided to pass the family vacation property to the next generation, and you have chosen the ownership form you want to use, the last step in preparing for the transfer is to create an agreement that spells out the use and maintenance of the property and governs a family member’s exit from ownership (if that becomes necessary). Learn ...

There are few matters of wealth management more fraught with tension than estate planning. Preparing to transfer wealth and assets to your heirs can involve emotions, family dynamics, legal structures, and a host of major and complex tax implications. The challenges around succession planning are also exacerbated because of the so-called Great Weal...

During this interview, attorney Jason Kohout shares the legal developments and highlights from his panel discussion on the regulatory, trust, tax, and estate planning update at the Family Office and Wealth Advisor Forum. Discover what to watch out for, what to stop worrying about, and what you should consider doing to protect your fa...

Irrevocable trusts are a great way to minimize estate taxes and keep more of your wealth in the family, but they require you to permanently give up ownership and control of the assets you place in them. For people who are hesitant about the irrevocable aspect of the trust, there is the spousal lifetime access trusts, or SLAT, that can be an excelle...

Simply because the instrument governing your trust states that it is irrevocable and cannot be amended does not mean it cannot be modified to serve your family’s needs in a better fashion. Delaware law offers an array of options—administrative amendment, decanting, a nonjudicial settlement agreement, consent modification, trust merger, and judicial...

It may seem that there will always be time to address estate planning. However, a unique opportunity to maximize the amount of wealth that can be tax-efficiently passed to heirs will expire at the end of 2025. Furthermore, legislation could curb lifetime exemption limits even sooner. The opportunity is even more pressing because the current market ...

Your fellow FOX members have contributed these death and estate settlement tools and samples. Please note that these samples have been provided for illustrative purposes only, and may not represent the latest versions. If you have developed sample planning tools, templates, or practices that you think will be of interest to other families, pleas...

As families grow larger and more diffused—the epitome of an enterprise family—consensus seems ever more difficult to attain. In this Q&A, FOX’s Chief Learning Officer Mindy Kalinowski Earley and principal Jeff Strese of Jeff Strese Consulting Group discuss how families can reduce conflict by taking a consensus-building approach that can navigat...

Estate planning is often part of a divorce settlement, and negotiation of these terms can be as integral to the divorce settlement as allocation of parental responsibilities, support issues, or division of marital estate. For example, even a relatively simple Marital Settlement Agreement may generally contain waivers of an ex-spouse’s right to make...

The ownership and governance structure of a private family trust company (“PFTC”) is highly customizable. This is important because all families are different, with different goals, family dynamics, asset composition, family sizes, and family affiliates. With that in mind, there are some key considerations in structuring the entity owne...

With the varied viewpoints, personalities, and emotions of UHNW family members, finding consensus can be a difficult topic, yet it is imperative to reach goals and move ahead. Gain insight into the structure and practices required for consensus and consider real-life situations resolved using these techniques. ...

Whether the sale of your artwork is a remote contingency or it is an immediate need, planning for it will help you and your fiduciaries anticipate the possible risks and opportunities that lie ahead. This guide leads you through the steps and takes you to the opportunities that exist when artwork, and the associated intellectual property ...

For one reason or another, many families are reevaluating and modifying their fiduciary structures. To assist in these discussions, a reference summary of state laws is provided for consideration when establishing wealth transfer plans and structures, including taxation, trust laws, asset protection, and regulated and unregulated private trust comp...