Many charitably inclined clients abstained from making significant outright donations to charity or creating or funding charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) during the recent economic and tax law uncertainty. They still may be reluctant to donate...

Although the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 reduced the importance of estate tax planning for many, it didn't obviate the need for estate plans for non-tax reasons such as asset protection...

How do we deal with a client's diminishing capabilities? We need to encourage families to engage in important discussions about allowing an agent to determine when a client's diminished capabilities render her unable to make certain critical...

What factors impact marketability discounts in restricted stock transactions? Typically, an investor's expected holding period is the primary determinant of the size of the marketability discount. But the regulations governing restricted stock...

Consider other issues when the decedent dies during the term of a qualified personal residence trust and a grantor retained annuity trust

Whenever a client comes to us after the death of a loved one, particularly in the case of a surviving spouse, he's typically quite overwhelmed. Generally, we find that our clients fall into two categories those who don't know where to begin with...

The challenges of dealing with the choice of tax regimes for 2010 decedents can approach you from many fronts. The tax consequences of the different regimes, the interpretation of formula clauses and the changes in funding due to the imposition of...

Since the financial crisis of 2008, global markets have been surprisingly resilient. Investors who continued to follow disciplined strategies have recovered much of their losses, if not their confidence. Professional advisors have all worked hard...

Our company, Fiduciary Trust Company International, was appointed executor of an estate of a client who died in 2010. Our client's wife had died in 2005. The value of the estate was approximately $50 million, consisting of a marital trust created...