Smaldino

Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (“SLATs”) are ubiquitous in estate planning. As clients plan to use the exemption before it is reduced by half in 2026, the issue of access to SLAT assets is key. Those with sufficient wealth may avoid any…

Year-end tax planning for 2022 is different from prior years. Practitioners might recommend traditional annual gift planning but for some (perhaps many) clients, annual gifts may not be worthwhile.

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…

In a recent Tax Court Case, Smaldino V. Commissioner Of Internal Revenue, T.C. Memo. 2021-127, November 10, 2021, has lots of important lessons on how to do an estate plan properly. These lessons are particularly important for those that…