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Estate Planning
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Jet Set: Beat the Bank with Family Loans
March 9, 2010All-time low interest rates and tight credit could make the family bank the lender of choice for the wealthy.
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Jet Set: Family Foundation or Family Feud?
March 2, 2010Mission statements are meant to develop a purpose for family wealth that all members can support.
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Women & Co.: Where Women Increase Financial Know-How
March 2, 2010Over the past decade, the firm's mission has remained the same: to help women build confidence and an open dialogue around financial responsibility and knowledge.
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Fewer Americans Focus on Estate Planning
March 1, 2010When people are afraid, they cut back on discretionary expenses, which is how most people view estate-planning services, one expert said.
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States Swing Into Estate Tax Debate
February 4, 2010The repeal of the federal estate tax has left planners trying to provide band aids to help their clients navigate some ambiguous terrain.
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Preventing Spoiled Children Through Incentive Trusts
January 25, 2010Some of these trusts are goal-based and some are dollar-based.
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Estate Tax Debate: Choosing Children Over Charity?
January 12, 2010The repeal of the tax has set up an interesting social experiment.
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Tightening Screws on Tax Refund Anticipation Loans
January 12, 2010Tax-time loans, already an embattled product, now face even more regulatory scrutiny — and not just from the traditional banking agencies.
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Estate Tax Debate Lingers on the Hill
December 29, 2009As Congress was tangled in the health care reform debate it let another important decision fall by the wayside: What to do about the estate tax, which, as it stands right now, is set to be repealed for 2010.
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Estate Tax to Temporarily Expire Until Next Year
December 17, 2009Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., dropped efforts to temporarily extend the estate tax at its current level in the face of Republican opposition.
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Extending the Estate Tax: The Battle Heats Up
December 4, 2009If you happened to die in one year rather than the other you’d have vastly different results.
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House Approves 45 Percent Estate Tax Extension
December 4, 2009The House voted to set the inheritance tax at 45% permanently for estates larger than $3.5 million. The estate tax is set to expire next month and disappear temporarily next year, only to return at a higher rate of 55% in 2011. All estates of whatever size will be subject to a 15% capital gains tax rate unless the legislation passes. The bill, which was approved by a vote of 225-200, would continue to exempt estates of less than $3.5 million. Married couples with estates of $7 million would be exempted through estate planning, leaving less than 1 percent of estates subject to the inheritance tax. Republicans had pressed to eliminate the estate tax completely, but that effort was rebuffed as Congress also tries to tackle the budget deficit. “Few tax professionals or estate planners expected the estate tax to disappear in 2010,” said Bill Smith, director of the national tax office at CBIZ Mayer Hoffman McCann. “Those who planned ahead and took advantage of the depressed asset values and low interest rates will be ahead of the curve, while those who were waiting until after the 2010 to do their estate planning will be scrambling. The takeaway is that now is the best time in recent history to do estate planning, especially since the tax is not going away.”
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Achieving the Dream
October 1, 2009Life planning can be a more personal and profound approach to a client's financial health.
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AICPA Offers Guide to End-of-Life Financial Planning
September 24, 2009The American Institute of CPAs has published a free guide to help people plan for eldercare and manage the period leading up to the end of life.
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