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More and more states are recognizing same-sex marriage. Although marriage and its legal implications are governed by state law, for federal purposes the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defines marriage as a relationship between one woman and one man. This inconsistency creates some tax planning challenges for same sex couples.

Advisors should protect their clients who own fine art and other collectibles from financial loss with properly executed tax and estate planning. This article highlights two recent examples of how oversights, such as defective title, create marketability challenges that may result in substantial financial consequences for collectors.

Since the election, President Obama has reaffirmed his commitment to increasing marginal tax rates for upper income taxpayers while maintaining for lower income taxpayers the tax rates that have been in place since 2001. The basic theme is to reverse for upper income taxpayers the tax benefits conferred by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconci...

Identity theft is now the fastest-growing financial crime, according to Thomson Reuters. Some 8.1 million people or 3.5 percent of the U.S. population were victims of identity theft last year. This paper outlines best practices to help safeguard your assets.

One of the key benefits of having a financial plan is how it can inform decisions regarding spending patterns and investment strategy. There are two questions that often come up during the process of developing a financial plan: How much risk should I take in my portfolio, assuming different spending levels and if I seem to have enough to cover rou...

Choosing an executor is one of the most important decisions individuals make when preparing their will. This white paper explains the executor’s role and offers insights into how you might choose an executor for your estate.

This white paper collects research highlights from earlier papers by Generation Investment Management on five key subjects: Climate Change, Pandemics, Real Needs at the Base and Peak of the Economic Pyramid, Water, and Demographics.

Many people are aware that the current federal gift and estate tax exemption of $5 million is scheduled to revert to $1 million at the end of 2012. Not only is the exemption set to drop, tax rates are slated to increase from 35 percent to a range that tops out at 55 percent. This means that a single person who makes a $5 million gift on December 31...

This paper provides an analysis of the new 3.8% Medicare surtax set to take effect in 2013 and recommends planning strategies to reduce its impact. Atlantic Trust suggests several vehicles to mitigate the effect of this tax, including tax-exempt bonds, rental real estate, S-Corporations, Roth IRA conversions, charitable remainder trusts and install...

It has been more than three years since the enactment of Sec. 877A, which introduced a mark-to-market tax on U.S. persons expatriating on or after June 16, 2008. Its introduction has impacted the decisions of many to attain a green card or citizenship. It can be costly for wealthy individuals to become a covered expatriate (as described below)...

Time is of the essence. Significant wealth planning opportunities are set to expire at the end of 2012. It is critical for wealthy families that have taken a wait and see approach to the future of gift and estate taxes to formulate a plan now. Developing and implementing well thought out and properly structured wealth planning strategies takes mont...

This report sheds light on a little-noticed wrinkle triggered by possible new 2013 rate changes that will make some taxpayers no longer subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Wealthy taxpayers currently paying AMT may see their effective marginal rates rise by as much as 12.5 percentage points under the law now scheduled to go into effect in...

Liquidity, in simplest terms, is the ability to meet your financial obligations, to cover your interest, principal and expenses. It is commonly thought of ready cash or the ability to convert assets to cash, quickly and without a loss. Why is liquidity important? Having enough cash to handle those shocks and surprises that inevitably occur will hel...

Altair looks at why bank custody ensures greater safety of client assets in this Worth magazine article.

In the past year, the IRS sharply increased the number of returns it audited, particularly those of high-income earners. According to a government official, this is an effort “to build public confidence in the tax system, encouraging voluntary compliance” and to make sure that both the low end and high end of the income scale are subjec...