This issue covers the release of the IRS 2015 inflation-adjusted numbers with a run down of important points to keep in mind including things to remember for year-end gifts, last chance for "portability" filing and the alternative minimum tax (AMT) deduction.
President Obama on January 20, 2015, used his sixth State of the Union address to lay out his tax policy agenda to the new Republican-controlled 114th Congress. In a subsequent speech, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reaffirmed the Administration's tax reform goals that were first outlined in a 2012 'framework' for business tax reform. Mean...
In 2013, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), a nonprofit group of reporters, shattered the long-held view that offshore bank secrecy was impenetrable. The group had received massive leaks detailing individual offshore bank accounts, which they shared with the public on their website. This was the first of hundreds...
The American Tax Payer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) was passed on New Year’s Day 2013, and established the first permanentset of estate, gift and generation skipping transfer (GST) tax provisions in 12 years. Each year, the administration puts forth tax proposals that may change the current law. This article provides a quick summary of sev...
There are a lot of questions surrounding whether snowbirds and others can shift his or her residency to a lower or no tax state such as Florida, Nevada or Texas, while still maintaining a home in Illinois. However, in light of Illinois’ current economic state and future debt obligations, it is hard for many Illinois residents and businesses n...
Using a New Hampshire trust, a settlor can eliminate a trustee’s reporting and disclosure requirements if he or she wishes to withhold knowledge of the trust’s existence, its terms, or the details of its holdings. Many settlors are turning to New Hampshire to create “quiet” or “silent” trusts under which the trus...
There are a number of trusts that can be customized to the needs of an investor, but each trust has its own advantages and disadvantages. This simple guide works to illustrate any concerns that an investor might have about tax consequences, withdrawal powers, the three-year rule and more by looking at the pros and cons of seven different popular ty...
Life insurance can play an important role in helping achieve the legacy and financial objectives of an individual or family—especially those with significant taxable estates and illiquid assets such as privately held businesses and real estate. For those who have assets that exceed the federal estate tax-exemption thresholds—$5,430,000 ...
In the past, when analyzing whether a client should make taxable gifts, estate planners tended to simply rely on comparing the transfer tax cost of making such gifts with those made at death. Paying the gift tax was assumed to be “cheaper” than paying estate tax, even though the rate was the same, because gift taxes are calculated on a ...
With the recent changes in the transfer tax laws, it is possible to transfer greater wealth and reduce income taxes through POAST. This innovative approach and integrated trust technique allow a wealthy individual (the donor) to provide benefits to both parents and descendants. A properly structured POAST can accomplish multiple objectives, includi...
For each parcel of real property owned, the local assessor sends a Notice of Assessment, Taxable Valuation, and Property Classification. If it hasn’t already been received, it is on its way to the mailbox. Printed on the top of the Notice in big, red capital letters is: THIS IS NOT A BILL. So, most people are inclined to throw the Notice away...
In nearly every discussion about estate planning, important questions and issues arise. If couples arrive in their attorney’s office having already thought about these issues—including assessing the level of financial management skills their beneficiaries should possess, how to communicate to their children about their hopes and expectations about ...
As a result of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the private family trust company (PFTC) has becomie a very popular vehicle to provide not only Family Office SEC exemption but also trust administration to the ultra wealthy inter-generationally and several additional tax and non-tax advantages. This memo identifies several of ...
When carried interest is transferred early in a fund’s life, it can have a very low value relative to its potential value at payout. It’s this payout potential that makes it an ideal asset to be used in estate tax-reduction planning, especially when used in combination with a grantor trust allowing for that appreciation to compound on a...
Portability may have been viewed initially as the simple solution in situations in which there was the potential for loss of the applicable credit amount of the first spouse to die. While this is a valuable benefit, the impact and potential planning opportunities for portability go beyond this important but somewhat limited scope.