Insights on Planned Giving From the BNY Annual Charitable Giving Report for 2024
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
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Gift Tax Basics
NGE On Demand: GRAT Trusts with Eric Mann
To Give or Not to Give: Considerations for Year-End Gifting
ATTENTION ALL CADETS!
After months of intense negotiations, on July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) was signed into law making various changes to the tax code that impacts estate, gift and income tax planning. Increased Estate, Gift...more
In this second installment of our multi-part series on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”), my colleague David Knutson and I discuss the changes made by the Act to the federal estate and gift tax regime....more
As you may be aware, on July 4, 2025, a landmark piece of tax legislation – commonly referred to as “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” – was signed into law, ushering in some of the most significant changes to the tax code in...more
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA). The OBBA established a new type of tax-advantaged savings account for minors, known as “Trump Accounts.” While the specific details of...more
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."- The Serenity Prayer- The first 100 days of President Trump’s administration have been...more
La Cámara de Representantes de los EE.UU. aprobó hoy, con una votación de 218 a favor y 214 en contra, la versión previamente autorizada por el Senado del proyecto de ley conocido como “One Big Beautiful Bill”. Se espera que...more
It is not uncommon for family members to lend a helping hand to one another through intrafamily loans. While loans can benefit family borrowers who may not qualify for a traditional loan or who need flexible payment...more
Residence may seem to be a relatively simple thing to determine. It’s where you live, right? Well, leave it to the Internal Revenue Code to complicate this question. There are different tests for residency when it comes to...more
The May 2025 Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 5.00%, which is the same as the April 2025 Section 7520 rate...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
Clients are often interested in gifting to their loved ones not only to benefit the recipient of the gift, but also to reduce the donor’s taxable estate for estate tax purposes. Every taxpayer can give a certain amount each...more
The term “resident” is defined differently for US federal income tax purposes and US federal estate and gift tax purposes. The mismatch in the US resident status under the two tax regimes often gives rise to problems. Thus,...more
Federal Estate, GST and Gift Tax Rates The federal estate, gift and GST applicable exclusion amounts are as summarized below. In simple terms, these dollar figures represent the amount of wealth that each individual can...more
The "big ticket" item of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is the significant increase to the lifetime gift, estate and generation-skipping tax (GST) tax exemptions. Under the TCJA, the exemptions were increased from $5...more
When creating trusts for estate-reduction purposes, nothing compares to the Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust. This type of trust is referred to by the acronym “IDGT.” Called by some as an I-D-G-T and others a word that...more
Estate planning is a lot like putting together a puzzle. The client provides you with their box lid showing what they want the ultimate result of their plan to look like. Then, estate planners are tasked to identify and...more
The federal estate and gift tax exemption is the highest it has ever been. Under current law, you may transfer almost $14 million to anyone you wish without having to pay a dime of federal gift or estate tax. Absent any...more
As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the estate and gift tax exemption was doubled for tax years 2018-2025. In 2018, the exemption doubled from $5.49 million in 2017 to $11.18 million in 2018, and that amount has been...more
Employee stock ownership plan - A versatile business exit and estate planning tool - If you own a closely held business, a significant portion of your wealth may be tied up in it. So, to prepare for retirement and...more
This CLE/CPE webinar will provide estate planners insight on recently issued IRS guidance regarding basis adjustments for irrevocable grantor trusts. The panelist will discuss key items and challenges stemming from Revenue...more
The purpose of this post, part three of our “Estate Planning for the Business Owner” series, is to provide a sample using real numbers showing the impact and benefit of using closely held business interests in lifetime...more
This podcast often discusses the elements of a trust, and how to grant access, control and flexibility to beneficiaries and trustees. But for tax and other purposes, the donor typically cannot retain those kinds of powers. ...more
Each year, certain estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax figures are subject to inflation adjustments that go in effect on January 1. Below are the current adjustments for 2024....more
Until recently, there was a fair amount of comfort amongst practitioners that, when structured correctly, utilizing a tax reimbursement clause for a grantor trust did not produce any negative U.S. gift or estate tax results....more
There are a lot of very smart tax attorneys out there who are trying to figure out something new, and yet there’s very little innovation. Almost all techniques that we use are incremental variations of an older technique...more