Once Removed Episode 18: The Reciprocal Trust Doctrine
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
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 April 2025 Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 5.00%, which is 0.40% less than the March 2025 rate. The April applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use with a...more
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), passed into law on January 1, 2021 in an effort to crack down on money laundering and other financial crimes, requires certain entities to report their beneficial owners to the federal...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
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
A Beneficiary Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Trust (BIDIT) provides a unique planning opportunity because it allows a beneficiary to continue to benefit from his or her own assets while maintaining some level of control...more
Starting January 1, 2025, the individual who is the grantor of a trust that qualifies as a grantor trust under Sections 671 through 679 of the Internal Revenue Code will himself or herself be subject to Pennsylvania Personal...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
The August 2023 Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 5%, an increase from the July 2023 rate of 4.6%. The August applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use with a sale...more
Grantor trusts allow for tax deductions on income generated by trust assets whereas non-grantor trusts do not allow for these deductions. It is crucial for people to carefully decide which type of trust is best for their...more
May 2023 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts - The May Section 7520 rate for use in estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and...more
According to a report issued by the National Association of Realtors a couple of days ago, last year saw a large outmigration of people from California and New York, while Florida and Texas experienced a comparably large...more
Under federal tax law, there are significant differences between grantor and non-grantor trusts. Grantor trusts are treated as disregarded entities. In layman’s terms, this means that the grantor (i.e., the creator or the...more
Recently, there seems to be some confusion regarding section 643(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and its application to trusts. Indeed, that provision—particularly to those not well-versed in...more
Leveraging QPRTs in a High Interest Rate Environment - A Qualified Personal Residence Trust, or “QPRT” is a planning strategy specifically authorized in the Internal Revenue Code that allows an individual to remove a...more
On March 28, 2022, President Biden announced his 2023 federal budget (Budget), which is often referred to as the President’s Green Book. While much of the Budget harkens back to the “Build Back Better Framework” (Framework),...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
Under the Internal Revenue Code’s “grantor trust” rules, the grantor of a trust may be treated as the “owner” of all or part of the trust. As such, the grantor is taxed on the trust’s income and reports its deductions...more
You likely are aware, from the news and our prior communications, that Congress currently is considering proposals that may have a significant impact on many estate plans. Although we still cannot be certain which, if any, of...more
Taxpayers have long utilized trust arrangements for the transfer of wealth to beneficiaries or for the protection of assets from creditors. Generally, there is nothing nefarious about these types of arrangements. Rather,...more
In the recent case of Heiting v. United States, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied the taxpayer’s claim-of-right deduction pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 1341. The case stemmed from the taxpayer’s attempt...more
Despite Senator Joe Manchin’s (D-West Virginia) recent announcement that he would not support a comprehensive version of Build Back Better, we expect Congress will advance some parts of the legislation early in 2022. The...more
Certain revenue-raising proposals that would have affected the transfer tax regime and estate planning of high-net-worth individuals and trusts, which were included in the prior proposed bill in the House of Representatives,...more
It Seemed Like a Good Idea- In July of this year, one of my partners, who chairs the board of a local grantmaking public charity, asked if I would present at a CLE program to be sponsored by the charity on October 28 (last...more