Family Office Exchange (FOX) has long maintained that an informed and educated client is a better client. This is especially true when it comes to wealth management fees. Yet, so often clients don't know their wealth management costs or what...

Precedents, those cases we look back to again and again for guidance when preparing returns or preparing for an Internal Revenue Service audit, aren't typically pro se cases. Van Dusen,1 decided in early June 2011, is an exception. Jan Elizabeth...

Fewer estates are now subject to federal estate taxes, thanks to the $5 million federal estate tax exemption. Internal Revenue Service data indicates that only 8,239 estates larger than $5 million filed a federal estate tax return in 2009, the...

The field of asset protection is often stigmatized. The phrase may inspire thoughts of deadbeats, scam artists, and tax evaders.1 However, the concept has become common and refers to nothing more than the process of an individual or family...

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (TRA 2010) has been described as an estate planning with its 35 percent rate and $5 million estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption.1 How...

Estate planning practitioners regularly include some form of withdrawal rights in irrevocable trusts, exercisable with respect to a specific amount and for a limited period of time, to enable the trust's donor to use his Internal Revenue Code...

Many wealth management professionals spend a large portion of their time and energy designing elegant, tax-efficient estate plans for their clients. This service is a key component of any comprehensive financial management portfolio. All too often...

As the U.S. economy continues its sluggish recovery, and despite the turbulence and uncertainty of the global economy, there's a tremendous planning opportunity for many of our clients in 2011 and 2012. Since last year, the income limitations that...

The sweeping federal tax legislation enacted in 2001 was a boon for many, but it also created a thorny issue for estate tax planning. The law provided that tax advantages phased in over the subsequent 10 years would be eliminated at the end of...