Taxing Issues

• GRATs – Now or Never?   07/19/2010  

  Last month, the House of Representatives passed the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act of 2010 (the ‘Act’) which, if signed into law, would significantly affect the potential benefits of grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs).

• The Best Tax Acronym To Know Now: “BDIT”   06/25/2010  

  The estate tax law remains in flux, but the astute taxpayer views this period of uncertainty as a window of opportunity.

• Recession-Proof Charitable Giving   05/25/2010  

  A CRAT involves a gift of property to a trust where the grantor retains the right to a payment of an annuity (not less than 5% per year) from the trust either for life or a term of years (not to exceed 20 years if it is a term of years), with the remainder in the CRAT at the end of the term to pass to one or more charities (including a private foundation).

• To Consider Expansion Of Medicare Tax To Passive Income   04/26/2010  

  The new health care legislation includes an increased and expanded Medicare tax that will have a potentially significant impact on wealthy clients.

• Intrafamily Loans: A Timely Wealth Transfer Strategy   03/24/2010  

  Low interest rates make this an excellent moment to shift assets to your heirs.

• Navigating The Haiti Charitable Contribution Deduction   02/16/2010  

  Recently President Obama signed into law H.R. 4462, which allows the accelerated deduction of cash charitable contributions made for the benefit of Haitian victims.

• Economic Downturn Creates Estate Planning Opportunities   01/15/2010  

  The current economic environment has had negative implications on most households and businesses in the United States.

• Roth Conversions – Advisor Business Bonanza in 2010?   12/14/2009  

  Are you ready for one of the biggest years in investment rule-change history? With 2010 only weeks away, the volume on the impending Roth IRA conversion rule-changes is growing by the day.

• Is the Roth IRA Conversion Right For You?   11/20/2009  

  Thanks to the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA), January 1, 2010 could be an important day to many people: beginning on that date, anyone holding a traditional IRA can convert to a Roth IRA regardless of their adjusted gross income (AGI). Historically, only those with an AGI below $100,000 were eligible to take advantage of this powerful savings vehicle.

• Recharacterizations – A Low-Risk Approach to Roth IRA Conversions   10/20/2009  

  In the world of individual retirement accounts (IRAs), there are basically two types: traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs.

• Husband Saved From Paying Brother-In-Law’s Taxes   09/25/2009  

  Can your spouse really force you to pay your brother-in-laws taxes? Strangely that answer could be “yes” if your will and your insurance policies are not coordinated.