Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Bill on Bankruptcy: Fee Agreement Puts Law Firm In Trustee's Sights
Signed into law on July 4, 2025, the OBBBA permanently extends many provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act while introducing new rules for charitable giving and increasing estate and gift tax thresholds starting...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
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
At the end of 2025, the federal estate and gift tax exemption will dramatically decrease unless Congress affirmatively passes a law saying otherwise. This event is the “sunsetting” of a 2018 federal tax law and is leading...more
The start of a new year is a great time to review your current estate plan or consider creating one. 2024 brings a number of opportunities for creating an estate plan, pursuing gifting strategies, and considering...more
As we start the new year, this Federal Tax Update highlights estate planning-related federal tax information that may be helpful as you consider planning options for 2024. ...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) significantly increased the lifetime estate and gift tax exemption from $5.6 million to $11.18 million for individuals, with adjustments for inflation starting in 2018. For 2023, the...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
For a business owner considering the sale of their business, there are two competing goals: maximizing the proceeds from the sale and minimizing the estate and gift taxes that will be due on the owner’s enhanced estate....more
From time to time, we provide updates in the estate planning area. While the November 2022 federal elections resulted in a divided Congress that dampens the likelihood of major federal tax legislation, we thought this would...more
By most accounts, 2022 has been a tumultuous year from a planning perspective: the uncertainty of the midterm elections, stock market volatility, rising interest rates and the highest level of inflation in recent history have...more
It is a fact that the phenomenon of human migration has been a major force in the history of the world. Indeed, among the themes that have remained constant during my years of practice, there are two that may be...more
You have probably heard that the House Ways and Means Committee released proposals for increasing gift and estate taxes in order support legislation being advanced by the Democratic majority in Congress. ...more
Key points •On Wednesday, September 15, The House Ways and Means Committee advanced a proposal for a $2.1 trillion tax increase. •The proposal could drastically change the gift and estate tax treatment of new...more
With Democratic control of the White House and Congress, there has been much speculation on what President Biden’s tax proposal will look like, as well as the likelihood that President Biden’s tax plan will be enacted into...more
The Estate Planning Team at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP issues advisories regularly to communicate important law changes and other matters of interest to our clients, their advisors, and our friends. The 2020 presidential...more
In this session, health law policy authorities discussed changes likely in 2021 in a Biden Administration and how these changes will impact business objectives and strategies for health industry stakeholders...more
Are you prepared for the critical impacts of the US election outcome to you and your business in 2021 and beyond? Join McDermott’s lawyers and our policy and lobbying team for perspective on the effects of administration...more
The election is only weeks away, and with it is likely to come significant changes to the tax code. Many economists anticipate that, regardless of the outcome, there will likely be tax increases to reduce the federal deficit,...more
- Annual inflation-indexing continues to increase the historically high lifetime exemption amount for gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Those of considerable wealth who have not yet made gifts, such as...more
Today’s historically low interest rates and depressed asset values make this an excellent time to engage in various estate planning techniques. Current conditions present several planning opportunities for transferring wealth...more
Cryptoassets make up a modern, rapidly expanding asset class that is challenging jurisdictions across the globe to come up with appropriate regulatory and tax regimes that fit its nuanced contours. Originally published in...more
For most family business owners, the old way of discount planning has become perishable. For many years, closely-held business owners routinely heard estate planners advise them to give or sometimes sell family members’...more
• The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate ushered H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), through conference committee, and President Donald Trump signed the Act into law on Dec. 22, 2017. • Most of the Act's...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