The Impact of One Big Beautiful Bill on Estate Planning
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
A lack of communication is the most common—and most costly—mistake family enterprise owners make when planning for the future. Values-based conversations, proactive planning and collaborative advisory teams can prevent...more
In the months preceding the general election in 2024, the owners of many closely held businesses who had not yet given much thought to the disposition of their future estates, including their businesses, decided they should...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
In Connelly vs. United States (602 U.S. 257, June 6, 2024), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that in a redemption of a deceased shareholder’s shares of stock, the corporation’s fair market value should include the proceeds...more
It is typical to have provisions in the governing documents for your company which contemplate the death and buyout of the owners. Most often, those buyout obligations are funded by the purchase of a life insurance policy on...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
This quarterly newsletter explores the emerging legal topics related to business succession planning. Thought-leading attorneys from Moritt Hock & Hamroff’s Closely-Held/Family Business Practice Group share their legal...more
Closely-held businesses come in all shapes and sizes. Some owners own 100% of their businesses. Some have partners. Some have children in the business. Some do not. A common question that a client asks the business and...more
Harnessing the energy and ambition that tends to surface at the start of a new year, now may be a good time to consider your personal estate and business succession planning. Developing a plan for the future of your winery...more
Most business owners expect that their company will continue to operate after they stop working. However, successfully transitioning control of a business rarely occurs without thoughtful planning. Consideration must be...more
Who is the Better Planner for Your Affairs: You or the State? Planning for succession of a closely held business is a lot like making a will. An individual has the opportunity to make a will which directs how the...more
President Trump promised and will pursue tax reform, but Congress must agree to any proposal. For the most part, a majority vote in both houses would allow tax reform for about a decade, and at least sixty Senate votes would...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
INTRODUCTION - As discussed in Part One of this article, statistics show that most family-owned businesses fail after a generation or two. Specifically, only 30% of family-owned businesses survive the transition from...more
INTRODUCTION - There are over five million family owned businesses operating in the United States.1 The Small Business Administration has indicated that over 90% of all businesses operating in North America are family...more
For family business owners who desire to transfer ownership of part of their business to the next generation, the valuation of the business interest is often an important factor to consider. This is especially true for family...more
Partnerships and LLCs are common choices of entity for family-owned businesses, due to their flexibility and the many uses to which they can be put – including pooling of family assets, succession planning, asset protection,...more
It's August of an election---year, and not just any election---year, a presidential election year. So, in less than 80 days, we'll all go to the polls and elect a new president. While Benjamin Franklin might have been right...more
The ability to use transfer and liquidation restrictions in legal documents to reduce the value of an interest in a family-controlled (or “closely-held”) business entity (e.g., partnership, corporation, limited liability...more
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury unveiled its long-awaited proposed regulations targeting valuation discounts commonly used in estate planning, thereby overturning decades of settled law. As drafted,...more
On August 2, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service proposed regulations that would severely limit valuation discounts for lack of marketability and lack of control that taxpayers have historically applied for federal gift,...more
Business Owners May Have Little Time to Act Before Rules Are Finalized - The valuation of a family member's interest in a family business has a major impact on the success or failure of a transfer of such interest to...more
The proposed regulations disregard restrictions that have been used by valuation experts and acknowledged by the courts to reduce valuations. If you are an owner of a closely held entity, recently proposed Treasury...more
On August 2, 2016, the Treasury Department released proposed regulations amending and expanding upon the current regulations to Internal Revenue Code Section 2704. The proposed regulations, if adopted, would affect the...more
Historically, the IRS has closely scrutinized transfers of interests in family-owned entities between family members. In particular, it has sought to curtail the use of discounts to decrease the estate and gift tax value of...more