Thomas Jefferson did it in the 1790s. Ernest Hemingway did it and wrote about it in the 1920s. Today, as well, many Americans move to France to live. Wealthy Americans often purchase homes there, which they visit parfois (occasionally). Some...
does not truly mean Today, trustees and beneficiaries of an irrevocable trust no longer need to blindly accept the trust's terms but instead should consider whether the trust needs remodeling and, if so, whether a decanting statute may be the best...
About eight months ago, my wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). We immediately started to learn everything we could about the disease, so that we could make informed decisions concerning treatment, lifestyle and other critical issues...
Helping a client with estate planning usually means a discussion of trusts, life insurance, and various gifting strategies, which ostensibly will protect the client's family and finances in the decades after his death. Yet one related topic that...
Estate planners have new opportunities to save taxes for their clients using deathbed planning techniques in states that have decoupled their estate taxes from the federal estate tax. Before the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of...
If you provide estate-planning services to wealthy aging clients, there’s one detail you might not want to overlook—because many of your clients probably have. Although most wealthy Americans plan to leave their money to their children...
Whenever a client wants to cap gift tax exposure, planners should consider using a defined-value clause implemented by use of an escrow trust. A defined-value clause limits the quantity of assets gifted or sold until a final determination of value...
Many estate-planning attorneys have used total return trusts to cope with falling yields in an effort to balance the income beneficiary's need for income against the remaindermen's need for growth. In a low interest rate environment...
A dynasty trust can offer significant benefits, but achieving these benefits is not simple. Crafting a well-constructed dynasty trust requires the planner to clear hurdles presented by various provisions of tax and trust law, including not only...
