How many times have you prepared your income tax returns for the previous year, only wishing you knew then what you know now, so you could go back and make more advantageous tax decisions? In most cases, you are stuck with the decisions you made before the new tax year began, even though you
Corporate Trustee Series: Moving in the direction of directed trusts
It is common for clients to have established a long-lasting relationship with one or more investment advisors over their lifetime. This relationship is so strong that in their eventual demise, they would like for the advisor to continue to provide services for the client’s assets that may be held in trust for successive generations. However
Year-end planning: It’s all about timing
Congress has passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a sweeping overhaul and reform of the federal tax code that takes effect Jan. 1, 2018. Below are several actions to consider taking before year-end that may reduce income taxes. In most cases, these suggestions apply to both individuals and trusts.
Pay legal, accounting and investment
Year-end tax tips for 2017
As the year draws to an end, now is a good time to review your existing tax situation and estate planning in general. More specifically, this is also a good time to look at your annual gifting strategies in order to avoid missing some important tax opportunities.
Gift tax basics: Generally a gift tax is
Relax, I’m a professional fiduciary
One of the many memorable scenes from the movie classic “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” takes place when Ferris and his friends drop off a Ferrari in a downtown Chicago parking garage. In the scene, Cameron doesn’t trust the car’s safety with the parking attendant, who says to them somewhat indignantly, “Relax … you fellas have
IRS announces AFRs for December 2017
The Internal Revenue Service has released the Applicable Federal Rates (AFRs) for December 2017. AFRs are published monthly and represent the minimum interest rates that should be charged for family loans to avoid tax complications.
Here are the rates for December 2017:
|
|
Annual |
Semiannual |
Quarterly |
Monthly |
|
Short-term |
1.52% |
1.51% |
1.51% |
1.51% |
|
Mid-term |
2.11% |
2.10% |
2.09% |
Long-awaited tax reform bill proposal includes estate and GST tax repeal
On Nov. 2, 2017, House Republicans released their long-awaited tax reform bill called “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” The bill contains sweeping changes in a variety of areas and expands upon, and in some cases changes, what was included in the “Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code,” released in September 2017 (discussed
It’s National Estate Planning Awareness Week: What should you remember?
October 16–22 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week. During this week, many people are reminded that estate planning involves the creation of documents such as trusts, wills, financial powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney to allow for the handling of their financial and health care decisions during life and after death. There
Tax reform framework dedicates one line to estate tax repeal
The Trump Administration, along with the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means, on Sept. 27, 2017, released the “Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code.” The framework is a consolidation of earlier proposals including the 2018 budget plan and the one-page memo previously released, as well as
Consider lifetime trusts for descendants and other beneficiaries
In many cases, determining the beneficiaries of your estate plan is simple. If your spouse survives you, your assets go to your spouse. If your spouse doesn’t survive you, your assets are split equally among your children. But choosing who will ultimately receive your assets and in what proportions is only part of the process.