Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Once Removed Episode 18: The Reciprocal Trust Doctrine
Once Removed Episode 16: Gift and Estate Tax, Inflation Adjustments for 2024
Once Removed Episode 17: Annual Gifting to Individuals: Options, Opportunities and Pitfalls
To Give or Not to Give: Considerations for Year-End Gifting
For individual clients, the Legislation provides estate and tax planning opportunities, including through the increase in the federal gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions....more
President Trump’s July 4th signing of the Opportunity, Balance, and Better Budget Act sets an increased $15 million federal estate and gift tax exclusion and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption per individual,...more
On May 22, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed federal reconciliation bill H.R. 1, commonly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which will now move to the U.S. Senate for consideration. While the U.S....more
We have certainly had our share of turbulent waters in the estate planning world from 2020-2022. With two significant elections, it is hard to remember a previous time with such substantial uncertainty about how tax planning...more
A primary goal of most married couples when contemplating basic estate planning documents is to ensure that the surviving spouse, and commonly, the couple's children and grandchildren, are supported financially. Permissible...more
The current estate planning landscape is drastically different than it was at the beginning of this year. After an extended period of historically low rates of interest and inflation, this year the Federal Reserve began...more
This Estate Planning Update reviews the newly-released estate tax exemption and gifting adjustments for 2023, the extended deadline to make a portability election, and simple ways that business owners and professionals can...more
Avoidance of estate taxes is one consideration in estate planning. Under current law, however, estate tax issues generally affect only the wealthiest 1% of the population, but everyone should be mindful of income tax...more
Under the Internal Revenue Code’s “grantor trust” rules, the grantor of a trust may be treated as the “owner” of all or part of the trust. As such, the grantor is taxed on the trust’s income and reports its deductions...more
Our annual estate and tax planning newsletter discusses certain concepts and techniques that should be considered in 2022 by our clients and friends in California. Perhaps the most important recent development was the failure...more
The House Ways and Means Committee recently proposed sweeping changes to the tax code that would significantly impair fundamental wealth transfer planning techniques. We recommend that you consider taking action now....more
...The federal tax laws are certainly about to change. With the need to raise revenue as a top priority for the Biden Administration, everyone is expecting dramatic changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Tax legislation is...more
In this second blog post on the House Ways and Means Tax proposals, we address the proposed changes that will affect the taxation of trusts, estates, and retirement plans. As we discussed, on September 13, 2021, the...more
As many people are aware, Congress is considering changes to the federal tax code to support President Biden’s Build Back Better spending plan. As of this writing, on September 22, 2021, no bill has been enacted....more
On May 28, the U.S. Treasury Department released its general explanation of the Biden Administration's U.S. tax proposals. Commonly referred to as the "Green Book," the explanation outlines the new U.S. tax proposals set...more
The past twelve months have demonstrated that a solid estate plan, which includes steps to protect your wealth, can help you feel better prepared and provide a sense of control during times of economic uncertainty. As we...more
In 2020, COVID-19, the US presidential election, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the TCJA), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the CARES ACT) dominated the planning landscape....more
For charitably inclined individuals, there is a significant amount of uncertainty brought on by possible policy shifts that may occur if former Vice President Joe Biden is elected and Democrats take a majority in the Senate....more
November’s election results could have a profound effect on the estate and gift tax laws. Among a number of significant issues are...more
Now is the time that many people think about gifting to loved ones, especially with the holidays upon us. In addition to making you, as well as the beneficiary of your gift, feel good, lifetime gifts can help reduce your...more
The IRS published Revenue Procedure 2019-44 on November 6, 2019, to set the inflation adjustments for 2020. The exclusion from federal estate will increase to $11,580,000, up from $11,400,000 in 2019....more
Increase in Exemption from Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Taxes - On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "Act") was signed into law. The Act implements a variety of significant tax reforms....more
For the first time in more than 30 years, the countdown to the New Year was also the countdown to major revisions to the tax code. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Act) became law in late December 2017 and contains sweeping changes...more
If enacted, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could open up significant estate planning opportunities. The House bill doubles the exemptions from estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes, creating new opportunities for...more
The Senate Finance Committee released a detailed description of the Senate's tax reform bill, titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, on November 9. The Committee has not released the text of the bill, and likely will not do so...more