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
President Donald Trump’s massive tax-and-spending package requires attention from both individuals and estate planners to advance their estate and income tax planning objectives. Originally Published by Bloomberg Law. ...more
On July 4, 2025,, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law. The Act itself was almost 1,000 pages. It made many of the provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent and included new federal tax provisions....more
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the “Act”) was signed into law last week, on July 4. As promised by the White House, the Act extends – i.e., purports to make “permanent” – many of the otherwise expiring provisions that were...more
On July 3, 2025, and by a vote of 218 to 214, the U.S. House of Representative passed the Senate’s amended version of H.R. 1 (also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” or OBBBA 2025), which is the tax-and-budget...more
When toddlers engage in parallel play, the children play adjacent to each other, but do not try to influence one another’s behavior. Apparently, parallel play can extend well into adulthood and to the writing of federal...more
An Agency Under Siege - The mission statement of the IRS reminds taxpayers that it is their responsibility to understand and meet their tax obligations, while it is the role of the IRS to “enforce the [tax] law with...more
Every conveyance of property or of an interest in property from one person to another is prompted, or at least influenced, by economic considerations. The parties to the transaction may swap properties, or one party may...more
A parent will sometimes transfer money to a child to enable the child to make an investment that the child could not otherwise make on their own. For example, the child may have identified an attractive business opportunity...more
Across all industries, family offices and their owners and management teams face rapidly evolving challenges, opportunities, and risks in the dynamic environment that is 2025. Here are six issues that family offices should...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Private Letter Ruling (PLR) 202504006, addressing several important estate and gift tax questions related to the division of a marital trust and the subsequent disclaimer of...more
On February 13, 2025, Republican lawmakers in Congress introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act, which aims to permanently eliminate the federal estate tax. Since 2015, various legislative efforts to repeal the estate, gift, and...more
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is set to end at the close of this year, resulting in a federal estate exclusion that is less than half of the current $13.99 million exclusion. Other changes to the tax structure are...more
For federal estate and gift tax purposes, transfers are valued at the “fair market value” of the asset on the date of transfer. One of the more common estate tax audit issues is the failure to properly report the value of...more
It is becoming increasingly commonplace for people to enter long-term romantic relationships without legally marrying. While there are no exact statistics on how many Americans fall into this growing category, a 2019 Pew...more
The IRS has released new inflation-adjusted figures that can impact your estate and gift planning. These numbers seem like a lot to sift through, but understanding them could make a big difference in your financial future....more
The current federal estate tax exemption levels, introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2018, have provided historically high federal estate tax exemptions. But this period of increased exemption is expected to...more
The federal estate and gift tax exemption changes from year to year. The current combined federal estate and gift tax exemption amount of $13.99 million per person ($27.98 million per married couple) is scheduled to “sunset”...more
Just a few weeks ago, many individual taxpayers, driven by what they viewed as the relatively imminent expiration of the enhanced federal transfer tax exemptions, sought advice on how to leverage their remaining exemption and...more
The use of private placement life insurance (PPLI) by high-net-worth individuals has generated considerable controversy over the years, with proponents arguing that it is a proper use of existing laws that provide many of the...more
Through the years, the US Tax Court has provided significant clarification on the gift tax consequences of terminating qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trusts. Two new cases in 2024, Estate of Sally J. Anenberg...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
December 2024 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts - The December Section 7520 rate for use in estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs,...more
With the looming elections, tax planners have taken time to consider what the future of Estate and Gift Tax planning might be under the new Congress. Every new Congress considers changes to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,...more
Check out our summary of significant Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and relevant tax matters for the week of September 30, 2024 – October 4, 2024....more
The IRS adjusts tax brackets and other tax-related amounts for inflation on an annual basis. Based data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics through August 2024, experts have projected the following adjustments to some of...more