Asset Protection
A Widening Net
With 2011 come and gone, we look back at the recent developments in the area of asset protection planning. With fewer clients concerned about estate taxes...
Asset Protection: Then and Now
The field of asset protection is often stigmatized. The phrase may inspire thoughts of deadbeats, scam artists, and tax evaders.1 However, the concept...
Should Substantial Discounts Apply to Very Short Holding Periods?
What factors impact marketability discounts in restricted stock transactions? Typically, an investor's expected holding period is the primary determinant...
Restorative Payments
In March 2009, Bernard L. Madoff pleaded guilty to federal charges involving a Ponzi scheme....
Reassessing Risk
Since the financial crisis of 2008, global markets have been surprisingly resilient. Investors who continued to follow disciplined strategies have recovered much of their losses, if not their confidence....
More Asset Protection Articles
Elder Law
The High Cost of Aging
Long-term care (LTC) and how we pay for it continue to be major issues for Americans and our federal, state and local governments. Congress attempted...
Individuals With Special Needs
Although the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 reduced the importance of estate tax planning for many, it...
Valuable Resources
As practitioners in the world of estate planning and elder law, we're all aware that America's aging population faces countless and challenging legal...
Driving Miss Daisy
How do we deal with a client's diminishing capabilities? We need to encourage families to engage in important discussions about allowing an agent to determine...
The New Investment Alternative
Long-term care (LTC) insurance can be an attractive investment alternative for high-net-worth individuals for two reasons....
Practice Development
The Changing Face of American Wealth
In 2008, the generation had just begun to enter retirement when the great recession intervened, postponing plans for many, shattering dreams for some...
Death and Damages Can Be Taxing
You may have clients who are plaintiffs in a wrongful death or survival lawsuit (based on another's death) or in a lawsuit stemming from their own personal...
The State of Estate Planning
On Dec. 17, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the Act). The Act...
The $52 Million Lunch
Funny things happen in the practice of law. This column will share some of them from over 30 years of my practice with clients all over the world. On...
Goodbye to Gobbledygook?
Congress proclaimed that the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (the Act)1 will improve the effectiveness and accountability of the IRS and other [f]ederal agencies...
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International Law
The HIRE Act
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the HIRE Act)1 of 2010, found in Internal Revenue Code Section 6038D, enacted foreign asset disclosure...
2011: A Time to Hunker Down
As we begin 2012, certain global concerns from 2011 continue to resonate. We're still dealing with an: uncertain global economy, with a focus on the troublesome...
Unconventional Wisdom
From an international perspective, family businesses in the Gulf region are taking new approaches to succession. In five areas, some leading Gulf families...
Unpredictable Treatment
As the world appears to shrink, more people acquire property in multiple jurisdictions or have family members living in different countries. Residents...
Defending Offshore Trusts From Foreign Attack
Trustees sometimes find themselves staring down the barrel of the litigation gun, whether as the target, or, more typically, as a neutral party standing...
More International Law Articles
Ethics
Managing CLAT Investments
Charitable lead annuity trusts (CLATs) have received considerable attention recently, in light of current low interest rates. If structured correctly,...
Securities Laws and Estate Planning: Where Do the Roads Cross?
If you're an estate planner, you're probably not an expert in securities laws. But you may have clients who are of publicly held companies or who own...
Reputation Management in the Internet Age
Ripped from the headlines: CEO Faces $7 Million Judgment After Son's Driving Conviction in The Financial News Daily; Businesswoman Fires Nanny, Gets Slapped...
I Do, Act II
Estate planning in the context of second marriages is increasingly common and necessary in the evolving world in which we practice. Estate-planning techniques...
Successor Trustee Liability
In recent years, as the economy has faltered and banks have failed, merged and re-emerged, the fiduciary business with its annuity revenue stream seems...
Family Businesses
Holding Family Business Interests In Trust
Diversify, diversify, diversify. That's the mantra for trust investing under the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA), which has been adopted in some way,...
Handling the Democratization of Dynasty
These days, problems of governance could hardly seem more acute and alive in a public consciousness driven by the information revolution. There's a heightened...
