By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) If I had a Nickel for Every Time… If I had a nickel for every time an estate planning advisor called or emailed me with a prospective client that they deem to be an absolutely perfect asset protection trust candidate “because they’re in a lot of trouble”, I would be a rich man! This is How the Conversation Often Goes Bernie the Attorney: Hi, Steve. I have the perfect referral for you for an asset protection trust. Steve Oshins: Great! Tell me a little about the referral. Bernie the Attorney: Well, my client…
199A – The Real Regulatory Story: Revelations From The Proposed Regulations
By Alan S. Gassman J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), Florida State Bar Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates, AEP (Distinguished) As most estate planners know, the new Section 199A proposed regulations were released earlier in August to great fanfare and curiosity. My team and I have spent considerable time, already, poring through the language and changes. We were given the opportunity to share our thoughts and summary of these regulations in an article featured on Forbes.com. To read this article, click here. SECTION 199A RESOURCES Here are some other Section 199A resources that may be of interest to you: PROGRAM REPLAY: “Section 199A…
IRS Notice 2018-54 Warns Taxpayers to Avoid State Work-Arounds $10,000 SALT Deduction Cap
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The $10,000 SALT Deduction Section 11042 of The Tax and Jobs Act limits an individual’s State and Local Tax Deduction (“SALT” deduction) to $10,000 per calendar year. Adoption of State Proposals to Work Around the SALT Deduction Limitations In response to this new limitation, some state legislatures are considering or have adopted legislative proposals that would allow taxpayers to make transfers to funds controlled by state or local governments, or other transferees specified by the state, in exchange for credits against the state or local taxes that the taxpayer is required to pay. …
Estate Planning is a New Ballgame!
By Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP, JD Estate planning is evolving in significant ways, and if you have not updated your planning and documents (planning always must precede documents) for the new world of estate planning, your planning will likely NOT (caps intended) work. In December 2017 what some call the Tax Cut Jobs Act of 2017 (the “2017 Tax Act”) which dramatically changed how many people should handle all tax planning (not just their estate tax planning). More than ever before your estate planning is intertwined with your income tax planning. Many (perhaps most) old wills and…
Do You Know What You Are Doing?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law It’s a bit curious how you can vividly recall just a few, brief occurrences in your life that have had an unexpected but profound and long lasting effect on you. I remember one day speaking with a businessman on a plane about what I do as an estate planning attorney and he asked, “What’s your customer service process?” I was immediately taken aback because I hadn’t thought of what I did with clients as a process, nor could I…
Do You Hate Marketing?
By Kristina Schneider When it comes to the idea of marketing, most lawyers cringe. For many lawyers, marketing seems tacky, unprofessional, and perhaps even “beneath” them. They didn’t study for countless hours and pay thousands of dollars to get all those degrees and credentials behind their name to then be bothered with the idea of marketing. But, here’s the reality. If you run your own practice, you are a business owner. And, if you’re a business owner, marketing is essential to the success and, frankly, the survival of your practice. Marketing your business doesn’t mean you have to go out and…
Toni 1 Trust v. Wacker: A Rare Domestic Asset Protection Trust Case
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) To this date, there still isn’t even one DAPT case where a creditor reached into the trust and grabbed assets in a non-bankruptcy, non-fraudulent conveyance scenario. Let me repeat this: To this date, there still isn’t even one DAPT case where a creditor reached into the trust and grabbed assets in a non-bankruptcy, non-fraudulent conveyance scenario. Toni 1 Trust v. Wacker A new court decision in the Supreme Court of Alaska was issued on March 2nd. A handful of asset protection planners who promote foreign asset protection trusts wrote articles and blogs about…
Exploiting the New IRC 199A Pass-Thru Business Deduction Using Multiple Taxpayers
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The 2017 Tax Act was rushed in order to make it effective as of January 1, 2018. Anything that is rushed certainly will create opportunities for creative estate planners who will exploit the new tax laws for the benefit of their clients. The greatest opportunity business owners received from the Trump Tax Act is the new IRC 199A pass-thru business deduction. This deduction allows certain taxpayers to deduct 20% of their Qualified Business Income. The Taxable Income Limitations For a married couple with taxable income of no more than $315,000 and for an…
ABA Heckerling Reports from the 2018 Heckerling Institute
For the past 19 years, the American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law with the permission of the University of Miami School of Law, releases several extensive reports highlighting the various lectures and proceedings of the Heckerling Institute, one of the nation’s largest estate planning conferences, held every year in January. This past January 2018, marked the 52nd Annual Heckerling Institute. To view, download and access these extensive reports, please click here to visit the ABA’s website. Further, at the above website, you can also access reports from prior Heckerling Institutes as well. We, at The…
FREE WEBINAR: Adding Business Planning To Your Estate Planning Practice
If you’re an estate planning attorney, you may have been struggling to figure out what’s the “next best thing” coming to you in your practice now that estate tax planning is (and has been for the last several years) effectively dead. Business law is often an effective complement to an estate planning practice. The folks at WealthCounsel, LLC are hosting a free 60-minute webinar on Tuesday, February 27, 2018 at 10am Pacific Time (1pm Eastern Time) entitled, “Adding Business Planning To Your Estate Planning Practice” with speakers, Jeramie Fortenberry, J.D., LL.M. and Patrick Carlson, J.D., LL.M. *NOTE: This program is sponsored…