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…
Trump Tax Act Restricts Deductibility of State Income Taxes: So What? Use a NING Trust
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The dust has settled. The Trump Tax Act has been finalized. Who stands to lose the most from the new tax rules? Those who live in a state with a high state income tax. That’s who. Prior to the Trump Tax Act, state income taxes paid were deductible against federal income tax. However, the Trump Tax Act limits the amount of the federal income tax deduction for state income taxes paid, real property taxes paid and sales taxes paid to a cumulative (yes, cumulative!) total of $10,000 per year. The $10,000 is used…
Tax Reform is Here: What You Need to Know to Advise Your Clients
By Jeramie Fortenberry, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) Director of Education WealthCounsel, LLC The most significant tax reform package of this generation is now awaiting the President’s signature and is widely expected to be signed into law at any time. The new tax law changes the tax planning landscape, creating both pitfalls and opportunities for attorneys and the clients they serve. It is critical for business and estate planning attorneys to understand these changes and how they affect their clients. In this Thought Paper, Jeramie Fortenberry, JD, LLM, provides actionable guidance for planning under the new and different tax landscape. It includes…
Impact of Potential Tax Reform on Business Owners and Possible Steps to Take in 2017
By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, CM&AA® On November 2, 2017, the Speaker of the House, with the backing of the President, finally introduced the long-awaited bill that represents Republican efforts at comprehensive tax reform, to be titled the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”. Of course, the Senate will propose significant changes, and there is opposition from both parties about the direction of the bill and the trillions it could add to the national debt. That said, there is a very strong chance of something close to the bill being passed this year or early next year. What are…