You have several different options when it comes to creating the right estate plan. Some people believe that a revocable living trust is the best way to go, while others think that a last will and testament (commonly known as a will) is best under certain circumstances. Others may find ...

The Countdown Begins: Will We Keep the $10 Million Exemption? The year 2026 is quickly approaching, bringing substantial changes that may affect your estate tax situation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017 significantly increased the federal estate tax exemption to $10 million adjusted for inflation. This is ...

As of January 1, 2024, a new law called the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) has gone into effect, which may require qualifying entities (known as reporting companies) to submit certain information to the Federal government that was not previously required to be reported. The CTA is aimed at combating money ...

On November 9, 2023, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2023-34, providing the annual inflation adjustments for tax provisions to be used by individual taxpayers on their 2024 returns. The adjustments include the following: For 2024, the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amount is $13,610,000, an increase from $12,920,000 for ...

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee released its proposed tax plan to fund the $3.5 trillion “Build Back Better” reconciliation program. While this proposal is less drastic than the 99.5% Act released by Senator Sanders in March of this year, it does contain significant tax increases and changes to ...

The aggressive changes being sought after are an indication that some level of transfer tax reform is likely to be heading our way before year end. Over the past few weeks, two tax bills were introduced. The first bill, written by Senators Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse, would make substantial changes to the ...

Happy New Year to you and your family!  Each year I send an e-mail to my clients to provide updates on any upcoming estate tax law changes, but I would be remiss if I did not take a few moments to reflect on the crazy year that was 2020. For many, ...

Protecting Your Assets in Advance of Possible Tax Law Changes The Federal estate tax exemption has not decreased in nearly 85 years since it went from $50,000 in 1934 to $40,000 in 1935. The opinion of most tax and estate planning experts is that this could all change very soon. The current ...

Each year approximately four million American children will turn 18. This can be an exciting time in one’s life – from gaining legal rights and responsibilities to discovering a new sense of freedom. A child’s independence, however, can have some unexpected consequences for the parents. Once the child turns 18, ...

The SECURE Act of 2019 On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act into law. The SECURE Act became effective on January 1, 2020, and includes policy changes that, amongst other things, will significantly impact retirement accounts. Below are a few ...

Happy New Year to you and your family! As the new year begins, it is a good time to review your existing estate planning documents.  The most common reasons for updating documents include: (i) law changes, (ii) changes in financial circumstances, (iii) children getting older, and (iv) changes in personal relationships with people that are ...

A common misconception is that estate planning, and in particular, the creation of trusts is only something that applies to wealthy individuals and families.  This myth has been exacerbated by the increase in the estate tax exemption (i.e. the amount of wealth that can be transferred to the next generation ...

One of the questions that keeps popping up from my business owner clients is… Should I change my entity to be a C-Corporation?  This question has been brought on by the recent passing of the 2017 Tax Act (i.e. the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017).  One of the ...

Earlier this year, we discussed the broad highlights of President Trump’s plan to reform the tax system.  As discussed back then the plan was very skeletal in nature.  Earlier this month, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Kevin Brady (R-TX), introduced a 429-page “Tax Cuts and Job Act” that would ...

Now that summer is here and we are approaching the end of the first half of the year I think it makes sense to take a look at what big tax news may be coming our way in the second half of the year.  One thing on President Trump’s agenda ...