General Blog
The current Lifetime Exclusion for federal estate taxes is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025, and will return to its pre- 2017 level of $5.5 million adjusted to approximately $7M for inflation. The current exemption is $13.6M. While it is possible that as in 2013, when the then President and Congress reached a compromise and enacted legislation which prevented…Read More
For the past 7 years, people in the higher echelons of accumulated wealth have enjoyed an unprecedented federal estate tax exemption which is now almost $14 million per person, which for married couples could translate into almost $28 million. However, this level of exemption will not last forever, as it is scheduled to sunset and be reduced to approximately $7…Read More
Q. What are some of the benefits of a living trust? A. Whether you are a member of Generation X, a baby boomer, approaching retirement or have already retired, it is never too soon to set aside a little of one’s valuable time to get one’s personal affairs in order. If you have not already established a living trust or…Read More
This is the second in a series of articles on why one should set up a living trust. A living trust, unlike a will standing alone, allows one to maintain confidentiality as to one’s assets as well as an individual’s choices concerning the beneficiaries of those assets, while living and after one’s death. In addition, if a person becomes mentally incapacitated, a living…Read More
I have been asked many times-“Why do I need a trust?” There are many reasons to set up a trust during your lifetime. Answer Number 1, which is probably the most common, but not necessarily the most important, is that it can achieve the avoidance of probate. Many people have a “fear of probate because of all the apocryphal stories…Read More
While Christmas has passed, it is still a good time to consider the gift of transferring a primary or secondary residence from the senior generation to the next generation. Why is that? Because the higher interest rates which are now in place, will result in the calculation of a higher value of a retained right to possession and a reduced…Read More
The current Lifetime Exclusion for federal estate taxes is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025 and will return to its pre- 2017 level of $5.5 million from the current $12.92 million as of January 1, 2026. It is not soon plan for this eventuality. Some ideas to include in this plan are: Creation of intentionally defective grantor trust…Read More
Over the past several years, particularly under the Obama administration, the subject of eliminating discounts for gifts of limited liability company and limited partnership interests to family members has been widely discussed. While these discounts are well-justified by reason of the limited marketability and lack of control inherent in such fractional interests, the IRS has viewed such discounts as tax…Read More
The Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear Carr and Newell vs. Koch State Board of Education, a case challenging Illinois’ public education funding mechanism. The plaintiffs challenged the use of local tax assessments as a key variable in provisioning state education payments to school districts. While the state currently sets a minimum level of target funding for each student…Read More
Many businesses, whether operating as a limited liability company (LLC), a corporation or a partnership will have more than one owner. These businesses are often started or experience appreciation in their value during the marriage of their owners. Therefore, if one or more of such owners should be divorced, the owner’s interest in the business will be subject to division…Read More