Susan Sontag social commentator, critic, activist and acclaimed writer executed her last will and testament six months before she died on Dec. 28, 2004 at age 71. Her death, reportedly from complications of acute myelogenous leukemia, concluded a...
Special needs trusts (SNTs) trusts created for the benefit of a disabled beneficiary present exciting opportunities for corporate fiduciaries. They also risk sapping fiduciaries' time and emotional energy. Sometimes, the wisest choice is for a...
From David A. Handler of Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago we have this report on the latest development in the Tax Court's understanding of the Internal Revenue Code Section 2036(a): On March 15, the court issued a decision in Estate of Wayne C...
Planners have a challenge: They must find sophisticated, highly tax-efficient techniques that weave family values into financial plans but don't land clients in audit hell. Enter the health and education exclusion trust (HEET). This type of trust...
The 2001 tax reform act built uncertainty into the estate-planning process. Under the act, estate tax rates decrease until 2009. The estate tax disappears for one year in 2010. In 2011, the rates and exemptions revert to 2001 levels. Adding to the...
Under several Internal Revenue Code sections, the property a person transfers will remain in his gross estate if he retains certain rights or powers over it. There is is an exception for transfers made for a bona fide sale for an adequate and full...
The qualified personal residence trust, or QPRT,1 has faded in popularity due to declining interest rates (lower interest rates make QPRTs more expensive), stock market losses (which make clients less rich), and the prospect of estate tax repeal ...
Estate planners are finding the revocable living trust (RLT) to be an increasingly popular and useful tool. Some, however, are guilty of overstating the benefits of the RLT, and this can confuse clients and lead to some embracing RLTs for the...
Estate taxes may be the bane of wealthy families, but they are a boon for wealth managers because clients need their help with trusts, gifts and investment vehicles that minimize the impact of estate taxes. So the Bush Administration's proposal to...
It'd be easy to write off 2004 as a year of much talk and little action when it comes to trusts and estates law easy, but misleading. While it's true that Congress failed to enact estate tax legislation, a major tax law it did pass, the...