http://www.goinglegal.com en-us editorial@articlealley.com Estate planners use trusts to protect beneficiaries from their inability, their disability, their creditors and their predators. Included under "creditors" are the IRS and divorced spouses. Most traditional trusts distribute the assets when the beneficiar... http://www.goinglegal.com/beneficiarycontrolled-trusts-1556673.html 19th May 2010 The advantages of a buy-sell agreement are well known to owners of closely-held businesses and their advisors. First, a buy-sell agreement creates a "market" for what would otherwise be an unmarketable asset. Second, a buy-sell agreement assures... http://www.goinglegal.com/an-alternative-to-a-buysell-agreement-1484264.html 01st April 2010 Life insurance can play an important role in a business succession plan. Following are some of the common ways in which life insurance can be integrated with many of the tools, techniques, and strategies commonly used in business succession planning. ... http://www.goinglegal.com/using-life-insurance-in-business-succession-planning-1472169.html 26th March 2010 Irrevocable life insurance trusts ("ILITs") are commonly used to keep insurance proceeds outside the estates of the grantor-insured, the grantor's spouse, and the grantor's descendants (if a generation-skipping trust is used). As the name indica... http://www.goinglegal.com/switching-irrevocable-life-insurance-trusts-1472160.html 26th March 2010 In Estate of Knipp v Commissioner, 25 T.C. 153 (1955), the decedent was a 50% partner in a general partnership that was owner and beneficiary of 10 life insurance policies on his life. The policies were purchased for business purposes. The court ruled tha... http://www.goinglegal.com/planning-opportunities-with-partnershipowned-life-insurance-1472143.html 26th March 2010 The benefits of an intentionally defective grantor trust (“IDGT”) are well known. First, the grantor’s payment of the trust’s income taxes is essentially a tax-free gift to the beneficiaries of the trust. Rev. Rul. 2004-64. Thus, the assets in the trust g... http://www.goinglegal.com/intentionally-defective-beneficiary-trusts-1472141.html 26th March 2010 The IRS has never liked valuation discounts (for lack of control and marketability) and has attempted to attack gifts of limited liability company (LLC) and family limited partnership (FLP) interests under several theories over the years and with varying ... http://www.goinglegal.com/gifting-of-llc--flp-interests-to-family-members--timing-is-everything-1472138.html 26th March 2010 A “Crummey” Trust is a popular device used in making gifts that qualify for the $13,000/ $26,000 annual exclusion from gift tax. Most other forms of gifts that qualify for the annual exclusion require an immediate or at least a very early (i.e... http://www.goinglegal.com/spousal-lifetime-access-trusts-1469839.html 25th March 2010 Estate planners use trusts to protect beneficiaries from their inability, their disability, their creditors and their predators. Included under "creditors" are the IRS and divorced spouses. More sophisticated estate planners generally create multi-generat... http://www.goinglegal.com/using-trusts-to-protect-heirs-1469690.html 25th March 2010 IRC Section 72 governs the income taxation of annuity contracts. IRC Section 72(u)(1) taxes the income on an annuity contract owned by a “non-natural” person by treating it as though it was received by the non-natural owner. If, however, a non... http://www.goinglegal.com/trustowned-annuities-1469553.html 25th March 2010 A key part of estate planning for business owners who want to keep their business in the family is deciding when and to whom to transfer the business. The particular tools and techniques used in a business succession plan will vary based on the goals and ... http://www.goinglegal.com/top-10-uses-of-life-insurance-in-a-family-business-succession-plan-1469549.html 25th March 2010 A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) is an excellent tool for persons with large estates to transfer a principal residence or vacation home at the lowest possible gift tax value. The general rule is that if a person makes a gift of property in whic... http://www.goinglegal.com/qualified-personal-residence-trusts-1469544.html 25th March 2010 Private annuities and self-canceling installment notes (“SCINs”) are both effective wealth transfer planning techniques. There is a present lapse in the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, but it’s likely that Congress will re... http://www.goinglegal.com/private-annuities-and-selfcanceling-installment-notes-1469542.html 25th March 2010 Broadly defined, a nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan is a contractual agreement in which an employer agrees to pay an employee later for services rendered currently. The NQDC benefits typically commence upon the employee’s retirement (a... http://www.goinglegal.com/nonqualified-deferred-compensation-plans-for-family-businesses-1469539.html 25th March 2010 An installment sale to a "grantor trust" can provide valuable income, gift and estate tax benefits. If the assets sold produce a total return (income and appreciation) in excess of the interest rate on the note, substantial wealth can be removed from the ... http://www.goinglegal.com/installment-sales-to-grantor-trusts-1469536.html 25th March 2010 Under IRC Sections 2503(e) (concerning gift taxes) and 2611(b)(1) (concerning generation skipping transfer ("GST") taxes) (hereafter the "IRC exclusion provisions") all "qualified transfers" for tuition or medical expenses are excluded from both gift and ... http://www.goinglegal.com/how-to-heet-up-an-estate-plan-1469528.html 25th March 2010 This article will compare three popular wealth transfer techniques that all produce potential estate tax savings by removing future appreciation from the transferor's estate, but without generating significant taxable gifts. Because these techniques produ... http://www.goinglegal.com/grats-sales-to-grantor-trusts-or-private-annuities-which-one-is-best-1469525.html 25th March 2010 A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust or “GRAT” is one of the most powerful and tax efficient wealth transfer tools available today. A GRAT allows a person to transfer the future appreciation of an asset to his/her children with little or no gift t... http://www.goinglegal.com/grantor-retained-annuity-trusts-1467959.html 24th March 2010 Part One of this article addresses non-tax estate planning issues confronted by unmarried couples; and Part Two this article deals with basic gifting strategies for unmarried couples. This article discusses several advanced gifting strategies that high ne... http://www.goinglegal.com/estate-planning-for-unmarried-couples--part-three-1467954.html 24th March 2010 Part One of this article deals with non-tax estate planning issues facing unmarried couples. This article focuses on some basic gifting strategies that unmarried couples can utilize to reduce or eliminate death taxes. Part Three of this article examines s... http://www.goinglegal.com/estate-planning-for-unmarried-couples--part-two-1467951.html 24th March 2010 Whether of same-sex or opposite-sex unions, unmarried couples face many estate planning issues (and opportunities). Although unmarried couples clearly face challenges that married couples do not, most are challenges that can be overcome with planning. How... http://www.goinglegal.com/estate-planning-for-unmarried-couples--part-one-1467948.html 24th March 2010 For estate planning purposes, a family partnership is typically a limited liability company or a limited partnership. A limited liability company (“LLC”) is an entity that combines the limited liability of a corporation with the “pass-th... http://www.goinglegal.com/estate-planning-with-family-partnerships-1467947.html 24th March 2010 While there is a present lapse in the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, it’s likely that Congress will reinstate both taxes (perhaps even retroactively) some time during 2010. If not, on January 1, 2011, the estate tax exemption (which ... http://www.goinglegal.com/disclaimer-trusts-1467944.html 24th March 2010 Estate planners use trusts to protect beneficiaries from their inability, their disability, their creditors and their predators. Included under “creditors” are the IRS and divorced spouses. More sophisticated estate planners generally create m... http://www.goinglegal.com/using-trusts-to-protect-heirs-1458774.html 19th March 2010 There are several reasons for business owners to enter into buy-sell agreements with their partners or co-shareholders: (1) to create a market for the owner's business interest at certain triggering events such as death, disability or retirement; (2) to f... http://www.goinglegal.com/buysell-agreements-1458766.html 19th March 2010 One of the chief concerns facing family business owners is how to effect an orderly and affordable transfer of the business to the next generation and/or key employees. Failure to properly plan for a smooth transition can result in monetary losses and eve... http://www.goinglegal.com/three-levels-of-business-succession-planning-1458759.html 19th March 2010