It can be difficult on a personal level to watch a client, whom you may have known for years, begin to lose his mental capacity. But if that client is the settlor of a revocable trust of which you are a trustee, the settlor's incompetence can...

For decades, the United States had a top marginal tax rate as high as 50, 70 and even 90 percent.1 As a matter of fact, for the past 50 years there have only been five years (1988 to 1992) when the top marginal tax rate was less than the current...

Since Jan. 1, 2010, trustees and personal representatives have faced a new transfer tax landscape one filled with questions but very few answers. For this one year, the estate and generation skipping transfer (GST) taxes have been eliminated and a...

Sophisticated trust portfolios often benefit from direct exposure to active and passive investments made in venture capital (VC) and private equity. However, if a trustee isn't a lead sponsor of such investments and can't control the terms of...

Unmarried partners don't enjoy the protections and benefits that are unique to marriage. For example, unmarried partners aren't entitled to an intestate share and don't have the statutory right to demand an elective share, as spouses do. Unmarried...