Estate Tax Planning

This month’s subscriber drafting webinar will focus on estate tax planning in states that have a separate state estate tax system with a state exemption that is lower than the federal exemption.  In that situation, there is an added layer…

Asset protection planning remains vital for many if not most clients. For the past few years, clients have been hyper-focused on planning for tax changes that have not happened, practitioners should re-focus clients on the importance of…

On April 27, 2022, the IRS released proposed regulations that follow up on the initial “Anti-Clawback” regulations released in 2019. The proposed regulations provide guidance on how various estate planning strategies may be treated in…

Between a simpler estate plan that benefits the spouse and a more complicated bypass trust plan designed to reduce estate taxes. For many clients, the high federal estate tax exemption means their estate will not be subject to tax, but if…

With the amount of the federal estate tax exemption likely to drop to a lower, but as yet unknown, amount, more clients may be subject to estate taxation. This may mean that a bypass trust is the best plan for more clients, but when the…

The uncertainty that drove a significant amount of estate planning at the end of 2020 has carried over into the new year, with many attorneys drafting trusts for clients in an effort to use the relatively high gift and estate tax exemption…

Given the current economy and the uncertainty of today’s political climate, many in the estate planning field have their eyes on Washington, D.C., looking to see if dramatic changes to the current transfer tax structure could be imminent.…

A hot topic in recent substantive webinars has been the transfer of assets in trust to take advantage of the current high federal transfer tax exemption, and the most recommended strategy is a trust where the grantor’s spouse is a…

With very limited exceptions, estate, gift and GST (called "wealth transfer") taxes are imposed on property's fair market value (FMV). Only cash and publicly traded securities have definite values for estate and gift tax purposes.

Estate tax planning is currently on the back burner for most estate planners, because it’s not a concern for the vast majority of our clients. However, with the upcoming election and a dramatic new need for revenue, the estate tax exemption…