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For the first time in more than a decade, Congress has enacted a permanent set of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax rules. While Congress can always change the law, there is no automatic “sunset” or change built into the current law.
The last-minute “fiscal cliff” agreement enacted on January 2, 2013, contains important provisions that affect estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Further changes could be ahead as Congress debates the debt-ceiling issue and the president releases the next federal budget. Read more at Lexology… Continue Reading
Contrary to the old saying, on occasion it does pay to look a gift horse in the mouth. That is the lesson learned by the donees in United States v. MacIntyre, 109 AFTR 2d 2012-XXXX, (6/7/2012), one of a number of cases brought by the government involving a 1995 sale by J. Howard Marshall II… Continue Reading
For high-net-worth clients, there are less than four months left to avoid the effects of potentially severe tax changes. Many advisors have undoubtedly been beseeching wealthy clients to take advantage of existing gift, estate and generation-skipping tax exemptions of $5.12 million and other wealth-transfer planning opportunities while they can. The zero hour is assumed to… Continue Reading
I have always advised my clients on estate planning issues, particularly end-of-life concerns, such as living wills and health care powers. Admittedly, I never gave these documents too much thought since I felt that, once they were in place, the decisions would take care of themselves. I was wrong. Read more at financial-planning.com… Continue Reading
This practice update outlines an estate planning strategy that may appeal to wealthy married clients who wish to use the $5 million federal gift tax exemption before it potentially reverts to a much lower level on January 1, 2013. The strategy involves each spouse creating and funding a trust with up to $5 million in… Continue Reading
A 65-year-old couple retiring in 2012 is estimated to need $240,000 to cover medical expenses throughout retirement, according to the latest retiree health care costs estimate calculated by Fidelity Investments. This is a 4% increase from last year, when the estimate was $230,000. Read more at AdvisorOne Continue Reading
Despite the risks posed by disability in retirement, many Americans don’t understand their chances of becoming disabled, a report released May 8 by the American College found. The vast majority of Americans don’t realize arthritis is the leading cause of disability. Thirty percent believed workplace accidents were the main cause of disabilities. Back and spine… Continue Reading
Death in the digital age is a lot more complicated than it used to be. Traditionally, fiduciaries and family members start administering an estate by reading the individual’s mail and sorting through records at the person’s home. However, with online accounts and paperless billing, these traditional approaches may not be available to fiduciaries today. The… Continue Reading
A relatively unexplored area of family business research is the role that an active, independent board of directors can play in perpetuating the family business from one generation to the next. A recently published book, Building A Successful Family Business Board, seeks to close that research gap. In fact, according to the book’s authors, an active,… Continue Reading