by Lori K. Murphy
Here's how financial advisors and estate planners can work together to help those with mentally impaired family members.
by Ben Mattlin
Here's how to help your clients avert inheritance lawsuits between their kids and a new spouse.
by
Eric Rasmussen
Most advisors expect their clients' taxes to rise over the 18 months,
but the good news is that charitable contributions could rise in turn.
With the estate tax expected to roar back in 2011, the practice of making big taxable gifts is gaining appeal right now.
Bulking up on charitable donations is one strategy some financial
advisors are recommending this year to clients facing a tax hit from
moving retirement assets to Roth IRAs.
Add Alaska to the short list of states that let people guard their
wills against challenges after death. And take note: It lets
non-residents take advantage.
by David Lawrence
One-person advisory firms can stand out when they outsource and use technology effectively.
South Dakota is trying to tighten the reins on its growing business in trusts without stopping that growth.
Over the past decade, two of the major historical constants on long-term planning-the
temporal limitations of the trust form as dictated by the Rule Against
Perpetuities, and the inability of a...
A closely watched index of stock market volatility
is starting to be used, at least experimentally, as a tool to value
some assets for tax purposes.
Few things get people madder at their estate planners than fights over
who must pay taxes when someone dies. A big source of trouble: the
patchwork of state rules that apply.
by Raymond Fazzi
A virtually foolproof way of passing assets to heirs would be restricted under a bill the U.S. Senate is considering.
by Alan Lavine
Payouts are appealing, but do your homework.
Estate-tax questions are mounting along with the ranks of very wealthy
people who have died in 2010 during the one-year gap in the federal
tax.
Estate tax audits by the Internal Revenue Service are as aggressive as
ever, and maybe even more so, despite the uncertain fate of the federal
tax on estates of the wealthy.
Pitcairn is a multi-family office that prides itself on putting hurdles in the
career paths of family members who want in to the company.
The disappearance of the estate tax this year has moved tax attorneys to protect themselves against the threat of possible lawsuits.
Wealthy Americans who cut back on charitable giving because of the
economic downturn are looking for ways to be more disciplined and
objective with their philanthropy.
The Obama administration's proposed budget calls
for lots of changes that could affect your estate plans, and ignorance
isn't bliss-it's foolhardy.
by Bruce A. Weininger
Although underutilized, simple GRATs made up of marketable equity securities can be very effective estate planning tools.
