“A dynasty trust can keep your wealth in the family for generations and ensure the legacy you’ve worked so hard to create.” Earlier this year, NBA team owner Gail Miller made headlines when she announced that she was effectively no longer the owner of the Utah Jazz or the Vivint Smart Home Arena. These assets, she said, were being placed into a family trust, therefore raising interest…
How a Community Property Trust Can Save Tens of Thousands of Dollars in Capital Gains Taxes
Community property trusts can save your clients tens of thousands of dollars in capital gains taxes, and that is just one of their many benefits. This lesser-known strategy is not necessarily the best fit for all couples either because of their assets or state of residence. However, for households you work with that can make the most of them, it is a planning tactic that…
How to Pick a Trustee, Executor, and Agent Under a Power of Attorney
While the term fiduciary is a legal term with a long history, it very generally means someone who is legally obligated to act in another person’s best interests. Trustees, executors, and agents are all examples of fiduciaries. When you pick trustees, executors, and agents in your estate plan, you’re picking one or more people to make decisions in your and your beneficiaries’ best interests and…
You Probably Have A “Cross Your Fingers” Estate Plan
Most people go through life with a “CROSS YOUR FINGERS™” estate plan, meaning they either have no plan in place at all or have a plan, but it hasn’t been reviewed in a long time. Because of this, they are crossing their fingers, hoping that when something bad happens, everything will turn out “OK”. Can you relate? With proper estate planning, you can uncross your fingers, knowing that if…
IRS Notice Eliminating Estate and Gift Valuation Discounts Will Have a Huge Impact on Your Clients and Create a Huge Opportunity for You
The IRS recently proposed regulations that will effectively eliminate several commonly used valuation discount strategies for estate and gift tax purposes. If the IRS’s current timetable holds, your clients may lose the ability to take advantage of certain valuation discounts as early as January 1, 2017. For your clients who have an estate large enough to be concerned about the federal estate tax (individuals…