By Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA Executive Summary The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 created a 3.8 percent surtax on certain net investment income effective for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2013. The tax applies to estates and certain trusts as well as to individuals. Given the low income threshold at which the tax begins to apply, the tax will have broad application to trusts and estates. This article summarizes application of the 3.8% surtax to trusts and estates and offers some initial planning ideas What Trusts are Subject to the…
2nd Annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart Released!
By Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished) The 2nd Annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart was released earlier this week. This year’s chart includes more variables than were included in last year’s chart. The additional attributes were added in order to provide the end user with as many details as possible so the best jurisdiction can be selected based on the desired decanting or, with respect to a newly-formed irrevocable trust, the best jurisdiction to maximize future decanting flexibility. What is Decanting? Trust decanting is the act of distributing assets from one trust to a new trust with different terms….
Download the 2nd Annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart
Decanting has become a very popular technique in the estate planning world. We are pleased to announce that nationally renowned estate planning and asset protection attorney, Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished), has just released his second annual Trust Decanting State Rankings Chart. To request a complimentary copy of his chart, complete the form below. REQUEST FREE CHART All 22 states with decanting statutes are ranked in this chart. In particular, this year’s chart has additional variables which were not included in last year’s chart. The Top 7 decanting jurisdictions are… South Dakota: Total Score = 99.5 Nevada: Total…
Beware of Standard Provisions in LP & LLC Documents
They can inadvertently divest your client’s family from controlling the business or cost millions in additional estate, gift or income taxes! By Edwin Morrow, J.D., LL.M., MBA, CFP®, RFC® Investors increasingly use limited liability companies, limited liability partnerships or limited partnerships (“LLCs”, “LLPs” and “LPs”) to operate a trade or business, to hold real estate or hold other investment assets, as opposed to state law corporations. When only immediate family are owners, these are often referred to as family limited partnerships or limited liability companies (“FLPs” and “FLLCs”). There are numerous business, asset protection and estate planning reasons for using…
The Art of Roth Recharacterizations
By Robert S. Keebler, CPA/PFS, MST, AEP (Distinguished), CGMA For affluent taxpayers Roth Conversions provide a significant opportunity to move funds from a tax deferred environment (as is the case with traditional IRAs) into a tax-free environment (as is the case with Roth IRAs) at a relatively reasonable current income tax cost. In general, there are eight reasons why a person may want to consider converting to a Roth IRA: Special favorable tax attributes (e.g., charitable deduction carryforwards, net operating losses (NOLs), investment tax credits, excess itemized deductions, high basis nondeductible traditional IRAs, etc.) can be taken advantage of. The…
Our 2014 Holiday Hours
To all of our clients, prospective clients, affiliates, and fellow estate planning colleagues, we just wanted to wish you Happy Holidays! We truly hope that you will take some time off and enjoy it with family and friends in the coming weeks. Our office will be open, but we will have limited hours due to the holidays, as noted below. Wednesday, December 24th – Open from 8:30am to 12pm Pacific Time Thursday, December 25th – CLOSED (Christmas Day) Friday, December 26th – CLOSED Monday, December 29th – Open from 8:30am to 12pm Pacific Time Tuesday, December 30th – Open from…
Last Opportunity to Join Phil Kavesh’s Monthly Practice-Building Series
Whether you are just starting out or you have 20+ years of experience running your own estate planning practice, you have most likely found out pretty quickly that all of the things you learned in law school, school textbooks, and through continuing education courses simply do NOT properly prepare you for what is involved in running your own practice. These things will most certainly help you become a technically sound practitioner, well-versed in the law, and perhaps a brilliant estate planning lawyer. But, it simply does not but it doesn’t train and teach you about the day-in and day-out experiences…
FLASH FRIDAY PROMOTION — DECEMBER 5TH ONLY!
TODAY ONLY: Get 50% Off All On-Demand Educational Programs As estate planning professionals, we know that you are busy. Chances are, you might have missed out on a few programs over the course of the year. No problem. We want to offer you a very special opportunity to get a 50% discount on your purchase of any of our On-Demand Educational Programs that you may have missed. Yes, we said 50% (5-0!). The only catch is that you have to take advantage of this offer TODAY, Friday, December 5th before it’s too late! All of our On-Demand programs come with…
Final Hours of the Cyber Monday Sale
SORRY, YOU MISSED IT! CYBER MONDAY IS OVER! Sorry that you missed out on some major savings. We are happy to let you know that you can still save 15% by utilizing the coupon code LATECYBERMONDAY, which is good through this Friday, December 2nd. Some of the products that you might be interested in: Upcoming Teleconferences – Save on your registration to any upcoming educational programs* Take an additional 25% off all On-Demand Programs (50% SAVINGS!) – All of our educational programs that have already been held become a part of our On-Demand Library. This is a great way for…
Our Best Articles on Asset Protection & Advanced Estate Planning
As part of our December 2014 Newsletter, we are featuring a special “Best Of” issue. Below, you will find a list of our Best Articles . These articles are written by a variety of financial and estate planning professionals, as noted below. Top Ten Asset Protection Mistakes Attorneys Make by Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished) Another Private Letter Ruling Approves NING Trust by William D. Lipkind, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) & Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished) Top Five Reasons to Situs Your Irrevocable Trust in a Different Jurisdiction by Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEL (Distinguished) New Tax Haven: Puerto…