In contrast to this time last year, when clients were frantically gifting to save estate tax before adverse tax law changes, this year has returned to the norm, with more traditional and routine end of year planning. In December 2012, Congress at the... Read More

Now that the election is over, the good news for those of us who live in swing states is that we will no longer be overwhelmed with negative ads telling us the opposing candidate is despicable. For those who were hoping to see an end to the estate tax... Read More

Effective July 1, 2012, Virginia will be the 13 state to allow self-settled Asset Protection Trusts. Self-settled Trusts allow an individual to transfer assets to a Trust, protect the transferred assets from lawsuit and the transferor's creditors... Read More

President Obama’s $2.9 trillion budget for the 2015 fiscal year includes several tax increases, particularly on the wealthy, to pay for increased spending without increasing the deficit. One increase that will not be widely reported pertains to... Read More

A common question asked by clients preparing their Wills is how to dispose of tangible personal property upon death. For example, I am asked, "I have jewelry and a coin collection, do I need to specify how those items are distributed among my children... Read More

Bella - A Tribute | Anyone who has not felt the sadness and loss from the death of a pet either has never owned a pet or is devoid of humanity. My three pound Yorkie, Bella (technically, my daughter's dog, but you know how that works), had neurological... Read More

In an October online article in The Wall Street Journal , the reporter described how Congress is examining large IRAs, and IRAs holding real estate and closely held business interests. Congress’ concern is that IRA income tax advantages are being... Read More

Russ Alan Prince, for Forbes, published an article on October 13, titled "The Very Wealthy Embrace Severe Disaster Contingency Planning." The article outlined how today, "the exceptionally wealthy [are] vulnerable to geopolitical instability... Read More

My March 30, 2015 Post, discussed how Kris Jenner, the matriarch of the Kardashian family, was confused about the difference between 1) her Will and the role of the Executor, and 2) her Living Will and the role of the agent. In an episode of "Keeping... Read More

Perhaps the primary estate planning strategy utilized in reducing gift and estate tax for several decades has been taking advantage of discounts for family transfers of closely held businesses and real estate interests. These same discounts also apply... Read More

Attached below is a July 3, 2014 Forbes article detailing the need for clients to review and update their estate plans. Now that I have been in practice for 30 years, approximately 25 percent of the legal work that I do comes from existing clients updating... Read More

Clients often ask about a Trust "Certificate" or "Certification." A Trust Certificate serves as a summary of the Trust provisions, and is designed to provide third parties, such as banks, insurance companies, or financial institutions... Read More

Type III Supporting Organizations ("SO"), which are those "operating in connection with" one or more supported organizations, are treated as public charities because they support one or more public charities. ("SO" herein... Read More

By John Dedon In the estate tax world, 2013 ended in stark contrast to the frantic planning during 2012. 2013 marked a return to fundamental estate planning; namely, using Wills, Revocable Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Medical Directives, to protect... Read More

Happy New Year The end of the year and the start of a new one is the traditional time for retrospectives and predictions. In the estate world, the dominate theme in 2011 was the extraordinary asset transfer opportunities available to the wealthy... Read More