Asset Protection and Trusts – Part II
As part of the Estate Planning process, an attorney explores numerous topics with the client to help create a unique plan tailored to the client’s circumstances. Many estate plans use a trust as the centerpiece of the plan. Some clients want to explore asset protection and let the attorney know they want to consider offshore planning. Sometimes, offshore planning works, but often it causes additional issues.
Asset Protection and Trusts – Part I
As part of the Estate Planning process, an attorney explores numerous topics with the client to help create a unique plan tailored to the client’s circumstances. Many estate plans use a trust as the centerpiece of the plan. Inevitably, clients want to understand the degree, if any, of asset protection that will result from the creation of a trust. There are numerous ways to achieve asset protection planning for a client.
Jubilee! Discharge of Debts and Student Loan Forgiveness
While many taxpayers may be excited about the prospect of reduced loan balances as part of Biden’s Loan Forgiveness Program, they may have questions about the potential tax consequences of that forgiveness. Under normal circumstances, creditors that discharge debt issue a corresponding Form 1099-C Cancellation of Debt to the debtor for inclusion in that year’s income. While the administration works out the kinks in the loan forgiveness plan, it’s important to understand the current provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the general principles that govern these situations.
Lessons from Patagonia
Estate planning often encompasses, at least in part, business succession planning. Many individuals own family businesses with the idea of passing the business on to the next generation. Of course, the bigger the business, the more complex that endeavor becomes. Yvon Chouinard recently made headlines when he donated 98% of his $3 billion company to an Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(4) organization. The move saved him millions in taxes, furthered his family’s political agenda, and embodies a creative solution to a common planning and business succession planning issue.
How Should a Person With a Disability Fund a Special Needs Trust?
The Special Needs Trust is a planning device that is used to provide financially for a person with a disability. How does this work? Are special needs trusts right for everyone? Read on to learn more: Government Benefit Eligibility Most of us can intuit that people with disabilities need health insurance. However, consider this– the […]
Financial Portability… And You!
The Internal Revenue Code grants spouses several tax benefits both during life and at death. Portability represents one of those benefits. Portability allows the surviving spouse to use the unused portion of the Applicable Exclusion Amount from their predeceased spouse. In Revenue Procedure 2022-32, the Internal Revenue Service extended the time during which a surviving spouse may elect portability without a Private Letter Ruling from two years to five years.
Digital Death Planning
How does our digital legacy, or digital footprint, play into estate planning? How can we allocate digital assets after death? Legacy contacts and password managers (sometimes called “password lockers”) give people who own digital content control in determining what happens to the electronic information after they die. Feel free to follow this link to learn […]
What the Proposed Treasury Regulations Mean for Deductions Under Internal Revenue Code Section 2053
To determine a decedent’s taxable estate, the Internal Revenue Code IRC) allows the decedent’s estate to utilize several deductions in various Code Sections, including Section 2053. The Treasury Regulations associated with Section 2053 were previously favorable to the taxpayer and contained broad language regarding the deductibility of claims and expenses. Recently, the Internal Revenue Service […]