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Will the passage of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act pave the way for electronic wills in Virginia and other states? For better or worse, we are living in an age of technology. At our fingertips we have computers, smartphones, tablets and other...
September 24, 2020 in Estate Planning; Wills, Trusts & Estate Administration;
Trusts Protectors: A Concept Whose Time Has Come
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...
November 07, 2016 in Estate Planning
Special Needs Trust: The Importance of Getting it Right
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...
November 03, 2016 in Estate Planning; Wills, Trusts & Estate Administration;
Family Conflict Among Siblings and Cousins: Clarity is Key
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...
October 19, 2016 in Estate Planning
Interfamily Notes and Refinancing
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...
September 12, 2016 in Estate & Gift Taxation; Estate Planning;
Specialized Trust Planning, Income Taxes, and Asset Protection
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,...
June 08, 2016 in Estate Planning; Wills, Trusts & Estate Administration;
Back to Fundamentals in Estate Planning: A Long Term Perspective
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...
March 11, 2015 in Estate Planning
Foreign Bank Account Reporting: The Dragon has Teeth
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...
April 16, 2014 in Estate Planning; Wills, Trusts & Estate Administration;
Income Tax Planning Using Estate Planning Techniques
Over the last several years, we have seen a substantial evolution in the transfer tax arena here in the United States. As a result of several favorable legislative changes, it has become the case that only for a very small and rarified layer of...
April 16, 2014 in Estate Planning
Every person is unique and so must be their estate plan. With the availability of estate planning documents on the web, the preparation of an estate plan has become akin to purchasing a good. The preparation of an estate plan is not simply...
October 01, 2013 in Estate Planning; Wills, Trusts & Estate Administration;
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