The United States is on the threshold of a major demographic shift. The post-war baby boom generation a group of some 78 million Americans has arrived at, or is nearing retirement age. This generation now faces the very real necessity of planning...
If you're an estate planner, you're probably not an expert in securities laws. But you may have clients who are of publicly held companies or who own restricted securities and these clients may be subject to federal securities laws and have...
This year may offer a rare opportunity to transfer wealth efficiently by making taxable gifts, particularly to grandchildren. We've previously shown that taxable gifts almost always are more efficient for transferring wealth than bequests.1 But...
The vagaries and draconian nature of Internal Revenue Code Section 2701 have understandably led to widespread deference to the vertical slice rule. However, it is essential to bear in mind that the vertical slice isn't actually a rule, but rather...
Every country1 in the European Union (EU) has its own laws and traditions for inheritances. This presents a problem when someone dies with assets in more than one country, as the conflict of law rules (known as private international law) result in...
Planning for an existing foreign non-grantor trust that has one or more U.S. beneficiaries presents complex challenges for trustees and professional advisors. Merely understanding the relevant U.S. tax and reporting rules is daunting enough. But...
The death of the offshore asset protection trust has, by some, been greatly exaggerated.1 In recent years, attacks on a few such trusts under extreme circumstances have resulted in the incarceration of the debtor-settlor (settlor). But these...
As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. For those charitably inclined, it will be more important than ever this season to understand that the choice of what to give and when to give it may determine how much they can afford...
