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
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
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
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
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
The IRS on Friday announced a historic increase in contribution limits to 401(k) and other qualified retirement plans. In 2023, you may contribute up to $22,500 to your 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, which represents more...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
Tax the Rich? The President’s plan for a tax regime that would ensure the rich pay their “fair share” of the cost of implementing his programs has come one step closer to being realized . . . maybe . . . well, sort of ....more
Same old in D.C.- On Monday, November 15, the President will sign into law the approximately $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was finally passed by Congress when the House approved the Senate’s...more
It is said that two things are certain in life: death and taxes. True, but incomplete. What is missing from this short list is a third inevitable occurrence – tax law changes. We now have a new and pressing series of proposed...more