Waiting for Godot is a classic play in which the protagonists await the arrival of a mysterious problem solver who never arrives. For estate planners and valuation professionals, 2010 was similarly a time for waiting for tax law resolutions, for...

Most family business succession studies focus narrowly on the succession event itself or on some of the changes in leadership and performance that occur soon before or after the succession event. Much less common, however, is a study that provides...

Donations by wealthy households dropped 7.6 percent from 2007 to 2009, study reports

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Family businesses are the backbone of the American economy. In fact, 90 percent of the approximately 15 million businesses in the United States are considered to be family businesses, representing more than 60 percent of the gross domestic product...

In the case of Holman v. Commissioner,1 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld a Tax Court decision2 that a discount for lack of marketability (DLOM) of 12.5 percent was appropriate for a private investment company holding only...

The subject of tiered discounts is a controversial one. Taxpayers may view the application of a tiered discount as a means to achieve a better tax result. Those who are already critical of valuation discounts see the additional layer of discounts...

Since the enactment of Internal Revenue Code Section 2703, the U.S. court system and the business valuation community have debated the meaning of that section and how it applies to estate and gift tax valuations. Increasingly, the government is...