The current interest rate environment has created an unusual opportunity to maximize life insurance cash values. Determining the value of this option requires evaluating two current life insurance illustrations of the same policy. The ability to access cash surrender value through a non-taxable policy loan is a valuable feature of li...
If the big picture includes ensuring a retirement income stream and passing assets to loved ones, it’s crucial to understand the effects of income and estate tax laws. Integrated, long-term planning is important and should be done well in advance.
A software consultant to financial services firms provides some food for thought about the extensive use of custom built Excel-based applications. The article touches on reasons why the use of Excel may be hurting your advisory firm or family office, reasons to review your existing Excel applications in use and whether you should consider other opt...
This article discusses the different roles an investment consultant plays in providing services to your foundation:Investment Partner Fidicuary Advisor Educator Administrator, andPhilanthropic SupporterA checklist of questions to ask a prospective investment consultant is provided.
Though the IRS issued the final regulations for section 67 in May 2014 to require the unbundling of a fiduciary's integrated fee, corporate fiduciaries and tax planners continue to struggle with designing and implementing procedures to ensure that the directive is properly accounted for on returns during the upcoming tax filing season.While mos...
This case study walks through the estate planning The Blum Firm, P.C. did for a client who sold their billion-dollar company several years ago. The planning occurred in five stages and exemplifies planning which saves taxes, provides asset protection, and structures an inheritance for future generations.
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 reduced the top marginal estate and gift tax rate to 40 percent. In addition, the Act provides for a $5,000,000 per individual lifetime estate/gift tax exemption, adjusted for inflation, known as the “basic exclusion amount”. The 2015 basic exclusion amount is $5,430,000. This article explains ch...
Families who have created wealth over time through real estate development and ownership have even greater opportunities, but very different challenges, when their focus shifts to preserving that wealth. In many instances, using appropriately trained professionals to guide in the process and electing to create a single family office, or retaining t...
The first in-depth exploration from our global family business survey, “women in leadership” shows that family businesses believe in the value of women in leadership overall, not only women family members.
Estate planning and wealth management involve the founder’s goals, family and assets. Unresolved substance use disorders (SUDs) will undermine the best plans and intent in all three areas. However, trustees and attorneys frequently overlook clients engaging in addictive behavior because they are unaware of the symptoms of the disease, don&rsq...
Knowing what Wealth Managers find crucially important when structuring insurance solutions for their clients can help you differentiate yourself amongst this highly influential group of trusted advisors. The insights in this article can help you strengthen your referral network and increase your pipeline of UHNW business.
The volume of information in businesses is doubling every two years, creating significant challenges for businesses of all types and sizes, including family offices. Besides the cost of storage, the information in records and data can pose risks that may surface in audits and litigation. One way to successfully tame the rising tide, is to implement...
CWP Management, Inc., is a busy family office based in Chicago, Illinois. They look after the financial affairs of 10 households and 31 family members across 3 generations, but an ageing IT infrastructure was weighing down on its president’s time and budget. When disaster struck and their data center was compromised, CWP used the opport...
Wealth transfer planning is a complex process with an ever-changing set of risks, opportunities, and regulations. Subtle changes to wealth transfer techniques—including applying commonly used risk management and sophisticated planning strategies—can dramatically increase the likelihood of success and enhance financial results.
Trusts have gained enormous popularity over the last 20 years. The top 1 percent of the wealthy have 38 percent of their investment assets in trusts, and the next 4 percent have 43 percent of their investment assets in trusts.1 This powerful trend is largely due to the fact that the modern trust can provide a family not only with powerful tax and a...