Wealth Planning

The rules are trickier than you think. And the bailout package changed some—temporarily

Here’s how trusts and trust-planning techniques may be impacted. And here’s what planners should be doing now

Even after the lawyer of Erin Brockovich fame was dead, he managed to win a case.

In today’s volatile and uncertain markets—with the financial system in disarray and credit markets in a vise—where are investors finding value?

With the rise of the commercial donor-advised funds (DAFs) during the past decade, traditional community foundations have sought to remain relevant by offering extra services to local donors and charitable organizations. A recent private letter...

My message is not for the easily offended, but, in the closing months of 2008, I feel this must be said: Congress still has not done anything about the estate tax law. If Congress doesn't act very soon, each one of us should ask ourselves: If we...

The Internal Revenue Service has almost literally thrown the (Internal Revenue Code) book at family limited partnerships (FLPs), seeking to negate their validity, and thereby knock out discounts and reap higher tax payments. It has had some of its...

The intention behind incentive trusts is excellent; the rigidity of these trusts is not. It's time to ditch the inflexible incentive trusts and instead learn how to fashion a principle trust. Rather than strict rules for distributions, a principle...

As practitioners are acutely aware, the Internal Revenue Service has pursued a variety of arguments during the past decade to attack family limited partnerships (FLPs). The IRS has deployed Internal Revenue Code Sections 2036, 2701, 2702 and 2704...

Okay, maybe that is unkind. How about compliance helpers or specialists?