Estate Planning Blog
Succession Planning in Turbulent Times—Operating Companies Need an Operator
Last month we discussed that “Operating Businesses Need an Operator.” Operating businesses—whether you want to sell your business to a third party, your employees, or give it to your heirs—need an operator to have longevity and value you can harvest. If you are the only one who can run it, it won’t last very long [...]
The Problem With Irrevocable Trusts
By Robert Lamm
The problem with irrevocable trusts is that, well, they are irrevocable. Once executed, an irrevocable trust may only be amended on rare occasion, and in most cases, only upon court order. Life happens and sometimes the Trustee is faced with a situation that was not contemplated by the creators of the trust when they signed [...]
Succession Planning in Turbulent Times—Operating Companies Need an Operator
If you have a lawyer, a CPA, or a financial planner, you have probably been inundated in the last few months with urgent calls, e-mails, newsletters and the like imploring that you take action. The five million dollar per person ($10mm husband & wife) lifetime exemption is set to expire at the end of this [...]
You Can’t Take It With You
By Robert Lamm
When you die, you can’t take it with you, but perhaps you can do some good with the assets that you leave behind. This was the topic at the 46th Annual Heckerling Institute Conference presentation called “What Every Estate Planner Needs to Know about Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Gift Planning.” Tax –Exempt Organizations and Charitable [...]
A Modern Way to Fund a College Education
By Robert Lamm
This week I had the pleasure of attending a meeting of the Estate Planning Council of South Orange County. The keynote speaker, Barry P. Levine, a consultant with Northern Trust, gave an interesting presentation titled, “Understanding Social Security Retirement Benefits–What You Don’t Know May Be Hurting Your Clients.” He posed the following question: “A man [...]
An Income Tax Trifecta — Last Minute Year-End Tax Planning
By Robert Lamm
This blog focuses on estate planning, but many times estate planning intersects with income tax planning. Take, for example this week’s post on The Wall Street Journal Online edition titled “There Is Still Time to Cut Your 2011 Income Taxes” found by clicking here. There are many good suggestions. In particular, I like the idea [...]
Refinancing Your Home May Cost You More Than You Think
By Robert Lamm
With record low interest rates, homeowners are rushing to refinance their mortgages. With 30-year fixed rates averaging around 4%, who can blame them? Moreover, with many lenders also offering to waive closing costs, it seems like it is just too good to pass up. However, for homeowners that did the right thing by creating an [...]
You Snooze, You Lose…
By Robert Lamm
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the “Act”) added a “portability feature” for estates of decedents dying after 2010 and before 2013. This allows a surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount in addition to their own $5 million exclusion for taxable transfers made during life [...]
Good News!
By Robert Lamm
Every once in a while, the federal government gets it right. Cost of Living Adjustments impacting tax rates for 2012 were recently released and most of the adjustments are favorable (see The Wall Street Journal, October 22, 2011 article A Tasty New Cola for 2012). In particular, the estate-tax exclusion per person is increased to [...]
Decisions, Decisions
By Robert Lamm
In 2010, the Federal Estate Tax was repealed. Then, it was brought back on December 17th of the same year. Confused? Join the club. The executor of an estate for a person dying in 2010 will have to file an estate tax return after all, but fortunately, they can decide what estate tax law to [...]
Location, Location, Location
By Robert Lamm
Location, I am told, is a huge factor in determining the value of real estate. Turns out, location can play a big factor in your estate tax bill as well. Under IRC § 2103, a nonresident, not a citizen of the United States, is subject to estate tax in the United States for property situated [...]
Your Estate Plan Is Not Worth The Paper It Is Printed On……..
By Robert Lamm
…Unless someone other than you knows that it exists. I constantly remind my clients to keep their estate planning documents in a safe place, but not too safe. Specifically, your executor and trustee will need to know where the documents are kept and how to gain access to them. Also, they will need to know [...]
Everyone Wants To Go to Heaven – They Just Don’t Want to Die First
By Robert Lamm
Asset Protection Nearly all of my clients are interested in “asset protection” in some form or the other. In particular, they are concerned about protecting their home from creditors. Currently, the homestead exemption in California is $75,000 for single persons, $100,000 for married couples, and $175,000 for persons who are 65 years of age or older or that are physically or mentally disabled. Given the [...]
If it was not for the last second rush…..
By Robert Lamm
Many years ago, my high school English instructor liked to remind the class of the old saying, “If it was not for the last second rush, nothing would ever get done.” It was her way of teasing the procrastinators out there that were likely burning the midnight oil in order to meet an approaching deadline. [...]
Don’t Let the Tax Tail Wag the Dog
By Robert Lamm
At the end of the day, a key goal of any estate plan is to make sure that the client’s estate is distributed to the persons that they intended. Most of the time, those persons are their children and their grandchildren. However, in the absence of an irrevocable credit shelter trust that is established at the death of one spouse, the survivor would be able to amend the entire trust and, at their death, leave it to anyone. This includes leaving the estate to a new and sometimes significantly younger spouse!
Advance Health Care Directive Registry
By Robert Lamm
Ever since the Terri Schiavo case, the public has become increasingly aware of the need for advance health care directives. In fact, it’s one of the first topics that many of my clients raise during our first meeting about drafting their estate plan. Most do not want to be placed on life support when they are in a persistent vegetative state and the advance health care directive is typically designed to prevent just that scenario. However, what good is the document if nobody knows that it exists?
