Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
Bill on Bankruptcy: Fee Agreement Puts Law Firm In Trustee's Sights
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
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
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
A key benefit to families with taxable estates may be about to go away. The Tax Reform Act of 2017 incorporated numerous tax reductions into U.S. law, with one significantly increasing the ability of taxable estate owners to...more
The TCJA doubled the lifetime exclusion and GST tax exemption. This exclusion amount, adjusted for inflation, is now $13.61 million and is expected to be approximately $13.99 million in 2025. However, in 2026, the amount will...more
The proposed regulations update outdated references and information under the current regulations, including references to temporary regulations, IRS officials, offices and addresses. The proposed regulations conform with...more
Earlier this week the White House released its Fiscal Year 2025 Budget. Of course, the federal government has not yet adopted a budget for the Fiscal Year 2024 even as we approach that year’s halfway mark. But I digress. The...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
This is The End- I have dreaded the year end for as long as I can remember. As a teenager and then as a young adult I associated the final quarter of the year, and especially the period beginning on Thanksgiving and...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
When it comes to passing wealth to the next generation, one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox is the use of your lifetime gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) exemption amounts. While 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
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
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
As a family business owner, are you missing out on valuable estate and wealth transfer planning opportunities or jeopardizing your current plan altogether? Katten recently hosted a program that addressed common concerns,...more
The April Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 5.0%. The April applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use with a sale to a defective grantor trust or intra-family loan...more
This alert from Verrill’s Private Clients & Fiduciary Services Group highlights the latest changes to the income tax and transfer tax landscape. The alert addresses the SECURE ACT 2.0, federal and state transfer tax updates...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
IRS Alert: The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued Revenue Procedure 2022-32 which provided surviving spouses extended relief to make “portability” elections without the need for the issuance of a private letter...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
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or “SLATs,” may be the ideal vehicle for clients interested in pursuing wealth-transfer tax planning. A SLAT is an irrevocable trust created by one spouse for the primary benefit of the...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
Estate taxes are generally thought of as a tax on the wealthy, but wealthy is a relative term. The Massachusetts Estate Tax applies to a surprisingly large portion of the middle class, not just the top 1%. The estate tax is...more