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...
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...
The sales rumors have died down, and U.S. Trust president Keith Banks can breathe easier after coming off a very good month. Bank of America Merrill Lynch was named the world’s leading wealth manager with nearly $2 trillion in assets by...
When planning for charitable gifts, especially those accomplished using strategies that result in the gifts unfolding over an extended time, donors and those advising them need to consider the possibility that the rules on how those gifts are...
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...
