In the evolution over the last 50 to 60 years of trusts in a variety of contexts including offshore trusts, a new concept has surfaced which is now being more broadly applied in the context of estate and asset protection planning. The concept is...
It is commonplace today that most families either have knowledge of or may even have a family member who is a special needs individual. Special needs individuals, whether by virtue of a physical disability or mental disability, are often entitled...
In the current financial times in which we live, where often times the structure of the family is complex, it has become increasingly prevalent that siblings or half-siblings and on some occasions, cousins will get into significant conflicts...
There is a unique interaction between estate taxation and family law which has arisen as a result of the portability election for estate taxes which was enacted several years ago.
Portability is the concept of allowing a surviving spouse to...
An often overlooked technique when it comes to family planning is the interfamily loan. For a number of years, the primary focus with respect to transfers between family members was the potential tax for gift and estate tax purposes which could be...
Over the last several years, we have seen a significant, perhaps even a sea-, change in the estate planning environment. For many years, practitioners were focused on transfer taxes as the tax rates were high and the exemptions were low. Then,...
We are now in an environment where we have far greater options when transferring property than was the case thirty years ago. In addition to the traditional probate process, either with or without a Will to heirs, we currently have a variety of...
It has always been the case that one size does not fit all when it comes to estate planning. However, recent changes emphasize why we cannot simply use the standard plan from years past, and expect that we will achieve optimal and appropriate...
We are now in an environment where estate tax planning for income tax purposes is both a real possibility and a virtual necessity to create efficient estate plans from both a transfer tax and an income tax perspective. There are several reasons...
A little known and sometimes extremely troublesome reporting requirement exists for United States persons who own foreign bank accounts in various countries around the world. To the extent that such accounts exceed the aggregate value of...