estate planning

• Estate planning

• Estate & Personal Financial Planning

The precipitous drop in the real estate and securities markets has certainly been painful for many, yet there is a silver lining. Depressed asset values, low interest rates, and the likelihood of continuing federal estate taxes make certain federal estate tax planning strategies extremely attractive. Two such strategies are transfers to grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) and sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs). Both are "estate freeze" techniques, with each permitting the transfer of an asset's future appreciation without significant use of federal estate and gift tax exemptions. The GRAT is a creature of IRC Section 2702, whereby a taxpayer may transfer assets to a GRAT in return for the right to receive annuity payments for a term years. Advantages of the IDGT...

• Pennsylvania CPA Journal
• Vol. 80 Nbr. 1, April 2009

• Significant recent developments in estate planning.

This article examines developments in estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax planning and compliance between June 2010 and May 2011. Part I, in the...

• The Tax Adviser
• Vol. 42 Nbr. 10, October 2011

• Time for a New Plan: The LLC Is a Better Option for Estate Planning After Cannon v. Bertrand

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• Louisiana Law Review
• Nbr. 71-3, April 2011

• 32 CFR 644.23 - Real Estate Planning Documents.

• Code of Federal Regulations - Title 32: National Defense

• Opinion: Estate Planning with Hedge Fund Performance Allocations

Bradley M. Van Buren, Holland & KnightAs the economy improves, advisors have experienced a reemergence of Hedge Funds (HF) and HF Managers are again focused on their Performance Allocations as an optimal asset to engage in tax-efficient wealth transferring. Further, the recent (and potentially temporary) increase in the federal gift tax exemption from a previous $1 million to now $5 million per individual (Lifetime Exemption), as a result of the enactment of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, has provided additional incentive for HF Managers to implement the strategies necessary to effectively transfer these interests. The increased gift tax exemption underscores a fundamen...

• Reuters Hedgeworld
• May 28, 2011

• 2011 Year-End Estate Planning Advisory.

Once again, we have had a year of changes and planning possibilities as to federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes. On Decem...

• Mondaq Business Briefing
• Nbr. 2011, January 2011

• Estate planning action steps.

CPAs should play a more significant role than they often do in facilitating, implementing and monitoring client estate plans. National Estate Planning...

• Journal of Accountancy
• Vol. 212 Nbr. 4, October 2011

• Estate Planning Considerations For 2012.

As 2011 comes to a close, clients, their advisers, and fiduciaries should examine possible estate planning techniques and steps to undertake in 2012. ...

• Mondaq Business Briefing
• Nbr. 2012, January 2012

• Pet Estate Planning Not Just for the Rich

You don't have to be Leona Helmsley to want the best for your pet after you die. She'd left her dog Trouble $12 million when she passed away in 2007. A judge cut the award to $2 million and awarded some of the money to her grandchildren, but the Maltese still lived a life of luxury until his death in December. The dog's passing was just announced recently by the Helmsley trust. Pet estate planning has grown since Helmsley's will made headlines. Today there are retirement homes for pets all across the country, and at least 45 states allow for pet trusts. A pet trust is an agreement that specifies how an owner wants a pet to be cared for, including details on who will be responsible for the animal and how the care will be paid for.

• The Record, Bergen County, NJ
• July 13, 2011

• Estate Planning in Limbo

The publication felt it appropriate to talk to several experienced professionals in the estate planning arena in order to get their opinions not only about where they see this issue headed, but also about how they operate their practices when such important laws are in flux. Here you'll find the thoughts of these top producers: Barbara A. Pietrangelo, CFP, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, CLTC, RFC; J. Marvin Walker, CLU, ChFC; and E. Dennis Zahrbock, CFP, ChFC, CLU. On how they are personally dealing with the current uncertainty surrounding federal estate taxes in their own estate planning business, Pietrangelo said they are contacting their clients to let them know that while the federal estate tax is repealed, it is only for 2010. Zahrbock's best guess on what Congress will decide regarding estate ...

• Life Insurance Selling
• Vol. 85 Nbr. 4, April 2010