Divorcing couples may run the risk of incurring gift tax liability if their attorneys do not draft their settlement agreements with an eye on Internal Revenue Code Section 2702's draconian valuation rules. Despite a recent plateau in divorce rates...
It's easy to forget that retired clients of relatively modest means can actually develop huge adverse tax consequences once they are forced to take minimum IRA distributions. But there are ways (albeit, somewhat complicated on first pass) to save...
When it comes to client-advisor communications about charitable giving, something is amiss. That, at least, is the conclusion of a survey conducted by The Philanthropic Initiative of Boston. The study found that half of all advisors say they...
Residuary bequests to private foundations are a common form of charitable giving. Typically, a testator's will provides for certain bequests to individuals, and designates a private foundation as a beneficiary of all or a portion of his residuary...
Much has been written about the intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT). Transfers to an IDGT are completed gifts for gift tax purposes; and the IDGT is not included in the grantor's estate for estate tax purposes. The IDGT is treated as a...
The rapper Notorious B.I.G. had it right: The more money we come across, the more problems we see. If planning for wealthy people is daunting, planning for the ultra-rich those with net worth in excess of $50 million is exponentially more involved...
How does a blind man sign his will? One of the most famous blind men the singer, pianist and composer Ray Charles had his manager, Joe Adams, a longtime friend and the executor of his will, sign his signature for him in front of two subscribing...
Most estate planners know the three basic elements of a trust: a trustee, a corpus, and one or more beneficiaries. Many commentators regard the presence of a beneficiary as the most important element, because without a beneficiary there would be...
Practitioners argue about what the income tax consequences are if the seller in an IDIT transaction1 (Installment Sale to an Intentionally Defective Grantor Irrevocable Trust) dies before the note is paid off. Some commentators believe that this...
Buried within many of the boilerplate financial planning questionnaires used by advisors is an innocuous little line that says something like, Any expected inheritances? There's a reason the question is not featured more prominently. Taxes, health...
