President Trump just signed the GOP tax bill this morning, which Congress passed on Dec. 20. Officially numbered H.R. 1, and awkwardly dubbed “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018,” the legislation includes some good news for high-net-worth families seeking to protect and pass along more of their assets tax-free. Read more »

If your estate plan calls for making noncash gifts in trust or outright to beneficiaries, you need to know the values of those gifts and disclose them to the IRS on a gift tax return. For substantial gifts of noncash assets other than marketable securities, it’s a good idea to have a qualified appraiser value the gifts at the time of the transfer. Read more »

Charitable giving is a key part of estate planning for many people. If you’re among them and own valuable works of art, they may be ideal candidates for charitable donations during your life. Read more »

Families who wish to give to charity while minimizing gift and estate taxes should consider a charitable lead trust (CLT). These trusts are most effective in a low-interest-rate environment, so conditions for taking advantage of a CLT currently are favorable. Although interest rates have crept up in recent years, they remain historically low. Read more »

Some people make video recordings of their will signings in an effort to create evidence that they possess the requisite testamentary capacity. For some, this strategy may help stave off a will contest. But in most cases, the risk that the recording will provide ammunition to someone who wishes to challenge the will outweighs the potential benefits. Read more »

A primary goal of your estate plan is to transfer wealth to your heirs according to your wishes and at the lowest possible tax cost. However, if you have creditors, be aware of fraudulent transfer laws. In a nutshell, if your creditors challenge your gifts, trusts or other strategies as fraudulent transfers, they can quickly undo your estate plan. Read more »

For many, an important estate planning goal is to encourage their children or other heirs to lead responsible, productive lives. One tool for achieving this goal is a principle trust. Read more »

If your estate plan includes non-cash charitable donations or liquid asset donations with restrictions, you may wish to discuss such planned gifts with the intended recipients before you finalize your plan. This is particularly important for donations that place restrictions on the charity’s use of the gift, as well as donations of real estate or other liquid assets. In contrast, if you are making a simple cash bequest, not contacting the charity might be the better approach. If you are not interested in immediate recognition, not contacting the charity about a gift will keep the charity off your front doorstep until such time as is appropriate to let them know. Read more »

An IRA can be a powerful wealth-building tool, offering tax-deferred growth (tax-free in the case of a Roth IRA), asset protection and other benefits. But if you leave an IRA to your children — or to someone else other than your spouse — these benefits can be lost without careful planning. Read more »

There’s a saying that death is hardest on those left behind. This is especially true if those left behind receive an unexpected and hefty estate tax bill. Estate taxes—or “death taxes,” as they’re often called— can be burdensome. Perhaps the most challenging thing about estate taxes is that they’re always changing and we generally don’t know if we’re going to die in a year when estate taxes favor our heirs. Read more »

When estate planning, consider whether taxes will turn an inheritance into a burden for your beneficiaries. In a just-published article on MainStreet.com, SmolenPlevy Co-founding Principal Jason Smolen discusses various tools used to transfer wealth while limiting the impact of estate taxes. Read more »

According to media reports, the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman didn’t leave any money to his three children directly because he feared they would become “Trust Fund Kids”. While his concerns were understandable—many people worry about giving their children too much money too soon—there are a number of estate planning strategies that he could have used to better provide for his family after his death. Hoffman died in February 2014, leaving an estimated $35 million estate to his long-time companion, Marianne O’ Donnell. Read more »