Technology has always outpaced regulation, and social media is no exception. This paper examines the main social media outlets, provides tips for advisors that choose to navigate these sites and lays out a best practices framework for developing a comprehensive social media policy.
New Hampshire has a robust set of modern trust laws, which afford settlors broad flexibility and creativity in designing trusts well suited to their specific needs and wishes. Those laws facilitate the more efficient administration of trusts and, importantly, provide a high level of certainty concerning the rights, duties and powers of settlors, be...
For wealth management organizations, the slow growth in number and assets of their target client pool is disconcerting news after a brief period of great opportunity for those firms with the proper skills and support infrastructure. The challenge going forward will be to demonstrate to existing and prospective clients that they can provide a compel...
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 maintained the gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes that were scheduled to sunset prior to 2013 and increased the exemptions for all three taxes to $5.25 million, making new or additional gifts to trusts a more attractive option in estate planning.
The allocation of receipts and disbursements between principal and interest are critical to the proper design and administration of trusts. Individuals creating trusts should have an appreciation and basic understanding of these concepts so the trusts will operate consistent with the settlors’ intentions and provide the intended benefits.
In light of the increased cyber fraud of email accounts, firms should adopt client callout practices to confirm third-party wire requests received through email. Faxes, voice mail messages and emails should not be used to verify wire transactions. Client education makes these types of money movement controls more acceptable and encourages clients t...
Selecting one’s home state as the situs may be a convenient or easy answer. However, the ability to implement a trust that may last forever, eliminate additional transfer taxes after funding and avoid state income taxes may provide the financial incentive to stray from home, or at least to consider it.
In 2012, total charitable giving rose to $316 billion in the United States, driven by an $8 billion increase in gifts by individuals. This year, individual donations are likely to continue growing, spurred by tax changes, the improving economy and donor-friendly IRA rules. Here are five reasons why 2013 is a great year to give.
Whether a grantor is struggling with ensuring that a trust fulfills the intentions for which it was established or simply wants to sleep better at night knowing the trust assets will be managed and monitored effectively, the directed trust statute provides the flexibility and incentives needed to improve the long-term outcome.
Wealth management and tax planning, done right, require care and a thoughtful approach. Helping you be vigilant in these and all other aspects is the purpose of this guide, which walks you through the key concepts and approaches pertaining to tax planning, investing, charitable giving, estate and gift planning, business succession, family meetings,...
Donors take care in planning their charitable giving over a number of years. As those plans unfold, however, natural disasters or tragic events can become an unexpected priority for giving. Ensuring that contributions provide the support intended by donors is not as straightforward as it may seem. Knowing the pitfalls that dot the landscape of...
This paper lays out general insights around art as an asset class and how best to mitigate risks inherent in art-related transactions to buyers and sellers, financial institutions, trust and estate practitioners, and art investment vehicles. As we look toward the future, we can expect that globalization and structural ineff...
In this article highlighting the importance of title insurance for fine art, Stephen D. Brodie of Herrick, Feinstein LLP, finds that:The economic value of fine art has become high enough, and that the risk of a title problem is real enough, that it is time for convention to change.Title insurance is readily available today, and should become a stan...
Every day we use smartphones, tablets, computers and other digital devices to access, transfer and store information, conduct financial transactions and operate many other aspects of our lives. Your digital assets include all of the digital devices you own, all data stored in them and on external servers, and all of your online user accounts. ...
This paper is a guide for employers, family offices and households to establish an effective onboarding strategy that spans a new hire's first full year of employment.When well designed, well managed and well executed, onboarding can have a dramatically positive impact on a household's entire operation. Onboarding can:provide a new hire wit...