I regularly use trusts as part of my legal practice. These are the exact same methods stated in §10 of the Restatement of Trusts. And save for number 5, they are consistent with the methods outlined in § 401 of the Uniform Trust Code.
Under Texas law, there are 5 methods of creating a trust:
The key to transferring large amounts of wealth was discussed 2000 years ago by the patron saint of estate planning attorneys, Archimedes.
Regarding leverage he observed, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.” Using leverage to move the earth—or to move your wealth—is the key to achieving noteworthy results. Each U.S. resident can give away, during lifetime, $5 million as well as the current annual gift exclusion.
It’s a new dawn, a new day, and we have a new President.
Whether we enjoy the benefits of the reforms he has promised remains to be seen. For those of you who are not aware of the promises Trump has made regarding tax reform, I’ve provided them for you below.
Property ownership in continental Europe is often fraught with some unique issues upon death. Most countries including Italy, Spain and France impose “forced heir-ship” rules. Accordingly, a portion of the property must pass to the children of the decedent at the time of death; spouse of the decedent can not be made the sole beneficiary of the Estate. As a result spouse cannot sell the property at his or her own will and must obtain consent form the children prior to selling. This causes many issues for the U.S. beneficiaries in terms of Estate tax.
Effective from August, 2015, the EU have decided to change these rules. The new EU rules envisage that the citizens of the U.S. can make a choice in their will that the U.S. law would apply to foreign property in an EU state. This would enable them to bequeath the Read more
Today I received a frantic telephone call from the adult daughter of a senior citizen client for whom I prepared an estate plan 10 years ago. Unfortunately, the man, who is a widower, had a serious stroke. He is alive but is not communicative. The daughter called and asked if I had prepared a Durable Power Of Attorney. Even though I had prepared a Will and a Living Will, the client had insisted that he did not want a Power Of Attorney.
Specifically, this client is a very private person and wanted to be in complete control of all of his assets. I had suggested that we establish a Trust, with him being the Trustee and having one of his children as a Co-Trustee who could take over if he came incapacitated. That was rejected. Read more
Canada and the United States have very different regimes for imposing taxes on death. The United States imposes a Federal Estate Tax; however, Canada has not imposed any Estate Tax since 1971. Rather, Canada taxes accrued, but unrealized, capital gains on death, as part of its income tax system.
Most tax practitioners are not aware of the fact that there special rules found in Article XXIX-B of the Canada-United Tax Convention (“the Treaty”) that are aimed at providing relief in connection with certain cross-border death taxes issues.
Some of these are summarized below:
Motivational Quotes To Activate Tax Professionals: Including A New Way To Generate Revenue For Tax Expertise
Tax Law Legal And Tax Update: Complimentary Webinar
Costly Sales Tax Mistakes Businesses Are Making
IRS States Abusive Trust Tax Evasion Schemes
The FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts): Everything You Need to Know
