It seems that F. Scott Fitzgerald was wrong. According to a new study, “Protecting the Family Fortune,” the very rich are not all that different from the rest of us — at least when it comes to estate planning. They also avoid it...
Private Letter Ruling 200819006, issued May 9, 2008, reminds planners to be careful when using electing small business trusts (ESBTs) to hold S corporation stock. The taxpayer in this case was fortunate. But unless practitioners pay close...
How much do estate and gift taxes contribute to funding the federal government? A March 19, 2008, Congressional Research Service report said that combined revenues from estate and gift taxes were $26 billion in 2007, constituting 1 percent of...
How much do estate and gift taxes contribute to funding the federal government? A March 19, 2008, Congressional Research Service report said that combined revenues from estate and gift taxes were $26 billion in 2007, constituting 1 percent of...
Barry A. Nelson, a Florida bar board certified tax attorney in the North Miami Beach, Fla., writes: Recently, I was approached by the personal representative for an estate of a wealthy decedent that owned a significant municipal bond portfolio...
The belief that estates can realize significant estate tax savings from custom bond valuations is based largely on the inefficiencies of the fixed income markets and the use of standard bond valuations. There's some validity in that belief, but...
CHICAGO, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- America's millionaires are feeling the pinch. The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including primary residence (NIPR), grew just 2% in 2007 to 9.2 million, up from 9 million...
Buy-sell agreements often play a crucial role in the succession of family businesses. It's therefore essential to structure and fund them properly and to understand how they can help fix estate tax values. The stakes are high for the business...
Want to know what clients really want? It's more financial education for themselves and all their family members. This past June, wealth owners from four countries gathered at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, paying close...
Since 1993, I have been running, like Forrest Gump, down every road I could find to try to discover an antidote to the tragedy inherent in the American version of the Chinese proverb, from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations, which...