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
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
On April 30, 2025, Katten hosted Loyola University Chicago's Family Business Center for the "Family Business Through a Legal Lens" program. Private Wealth Partner Adam Damerow and Loyola University Chicago School of Law...more
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee approved Public Chapter No. 695 on April 11, 2024, as passed by the Tennessee General Assembly (Trust Bill). The new law became effective on July 1, 2024, and it made several important changes to...more
It’s not enough for the founder of a closely held business to have successfully established the business. The business has to grow, not only to increase profits, but also to make it more competitive and to diversify its...more
Death of a Parent- In the context of a family-owned business, it is often the case that the matriarch or patriarch of the family is also the chief executive of the business. They may have founded the business, or they may...more
“Déjà vu All Over Again”- The White House last week released the President’s Budget for the Fiscal Year 2023. The Budget is ambitious, but its “investments,” we are told, “are more than paid for with tax reforms focused on...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
Family-owned business owners in Washington State should be aware that leaving family-owned business interests outright to a surviving non-U.S.-citizen spouse can result in Washington estate taxes due at the first spouse's...more
Wineries and vineyards are unique assets to consider when crafting personal financial, estate and business succession plans for clients, both of which are crucial components of wealth management....more
The newly enacted U.S. tax law makes significant changes to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code affecting high net worth individuals, their investment entities and family offices. These changes are likely to spur gift...more
In 2016, we continued to experience a period of relative stability in our federal transfer tax system and have been able to plan without expecting imminent significant changes to the system. Under the American Taxpayer Relief...more
In this final installment in our three-part series, we discuss the planning technique known as Charitable Lead Annuity Trusts (CLATs). Like Intra-Family Loans and Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) described in previous...more
On August 2, 2016 the U.S. Treasury Department issued proposed regulations addressing transfers between family members of interests in family-controlled entities (e.g., corporations, partnerships and LLCs). If enacted, these...more
Protecting family assets in the event of a divorce is particularly significant for family business owners, who typically want to avoid sharing ownership with their ex-spouses or their children’s ex-spouses. A prenuptial...more
In re Estate of House, 2014 Wash. App. LEXIS 3006 (Wash. Ct. App. 2014) - A release waiving any and all claims that the parties may have or may acquire, bars recovery for unknown claims existing at the time the release...more