Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Once Removed Episode 18: The Reciprocal Trust Doctrine
Charitable Planning With Guest Stephanie Hood: Navigating Complex Rules and Traps for the Unwary
Once Removed Episode 16: Gift and Estate Tax, Inflation Adjustments for 2024
Once Removed Episode 17: Annual Gifting to Individuals: Options, Opportunities and Pitfalls
Once Removed Episode 12: SLATs and the Case of McKim vs. McKim
Once Removed Episode 11: Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or SLATs
Once Removed Episode 10: Trustee Removal and Case Update on Leo Kahn Revocable Trust
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
The Renoir Spelling Bee
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
RETURN TO FOREVER - What Game Shall We Play Today?
To Give or Not to Give: Considerations for Year-End Gifting
INTRODUCING MALTA SPLIT DOLLAR
THE PAPER CHASE
With a Little Help from My Friends
The Greatest Gift: Your Individual + Family Estate Plan
Experienced trusts and estates attorneys consistently observe how proper planning can mean the difference between a thriving legacy and a fragmented enterprise. For family-owned life insurance businesses, the stakes are...more
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law on July 4, 2025. This legislation introduces changes that will impact estate, tax, and business planning strategies for many business owners and high-net-worth individuals and...more
Jim Irsay, the longtime owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts, died unexpectedly in May 2025. Irsay leaves behind not only a legacy in the NFL but also a sports franchise valued at approximately $4.4 billion. As Irsay’s...more
The Chicago Bears are a charter member of the National Football League, with ownership maintained by George Halas and later, his daughter, Virginia Halas McCaskey, for over 100 years. Upon Virginia McCaskey’s death last week,...more
Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Connelly v. United States, that the valuation of a decedent’s shares in a closely held corporation for federal estate tax purposes must include insurance proceeds received...more
On June 6, 2024, the Supreme Court held 9-to-0 in Connelly v. United States that company-owned life insurance increases the company’s fair market value for estate tax purposes, and the company’s obligation to redeem a...more
The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Thomas A. Connelly et al. v. United States has significant implications for certain closely held business owners. The decision is important especially for those with, or planning to buy,...more
On June 6, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued its opinion regarding Connelly, as Executor of the Estate of Connelly v. United States. This final decision will directly impact all closely held business owners that...more
The Supreme Court of the United States issued an important ruling on June 6, 2024, clarifying the federal tax consequences of certain succession plans for closely held businesses. The Court held in Connelly v. United States,...more
All U.S. closely held businesses just received a warning from the highest court in the land that they should review their succession plans (or else risk a higher tax bill for the estates of their owners). On June 6, 2024, the...more
The number of taxpayers seeking the benefits of Qualified Small Business Stock (“QSBS”) has picked up steam in recent years, particularly since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) lowered the federal corporate tax rates to...more
What are some of the fundamental issues when estate planning for business owners? Why should every business owner have an estate plan? What are some of the primary issues to address in an effective estate plan for those who...more
The value of an asset at the time of a transfer is the key component to the United States’ transfer tax system. Gratuitous transfers during lifetime are considered gifts, while transfers as a result of the death of the owner...more
For most business owners, the business is the most valuable item on their balance sheet. From an estate planning perspective, the equity in the business is also often the best asset to use for lifetime transfers to pass value...more
Counting the Days?- We are 302 days away from the national mid-term elections, to be held November 8, 2022, yet the first full week of the new year has already highlighted some of the economic issues with which the...more
For most family business owners, the old way of discount planning has become perishable. For many years, closely-held business owners routinely heard estate planners advise them to give or sometimes sell family members’...more
Despite recent trends toward consolidation in the agricultural industry, farming generally remains a family affair. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 97 percent of all farms in the United States are...more
Earlier this month, the IRS issued long-awaited proposed regulations under Section 2704 of the Internal Revenue Code that, if adopted, will have a substantial impact on traditional estate planning techniques commonly utilized...more
The Department of the Treasury wants to place limitations on valuation discounts that are currently commonly used to reduce asset values in family-owned and closely-held businesses, in an effort to increase tax revenue. The...more