In today’s digital world, we create an enormous amount of personal, financial and electronic information over the course of our lives, and the relevance of this information does not end at death. When the person nominated as your personal representative (formally...
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Posts for 'Trust and Estate Planning'
Guardianships, Conservatorships and Jurisdictional Issues: What to Do and Where to File
Many clients have loved ones who will become or who are already vulnerable and need assistance with activities of daily living. Clients will often create Health Care Proxies or Durable Power of Attorneys to appoint trusted individuals or family members to make medical...
Wouldn’t It Be Great to Leave Junior the House?
My daughter recently bought a house in the neighborhood she was raised in, much to my great delight, another generation would grow up with the same neighborhood schools, playgrounds and restaurants my young family enjoyed years ago. Similarly, many clients also have...
Meet Brendan McGrory
Brendan McGrory is an attorney in the Private Client Services practice, specializing in estate planning, business succession and wealth transfer. While many attorneys are drawn to the logic of the law, Brendan’s path was guided by a love for writing and a desire to...
Learning the Hard Way: Income Tax Consequences of Nonqualified Distributions from 529 Plans
As the cost of education continues to increase, funding a 529 Plan can provide invaluable investment and gifting opportunities for education-focused families. Cash gifts to 529 Plans grow income tax deferred if used for qualified education expenses. Contributions to a...
Thinking Across Tax Systems: Income Tax vs. Estate and Gift Tax
Many clients understand the basic concepts behind the income tax and estate and gift tax systems. What is less intuitive is how these two regimes interact, and sometimes conflict, when planning across a lifetime. Both tax systems seek to tax economic gains, but they...
Disinterested but Not Indifferent: Trustee Selection Lessons from Jane Austen’s, “Emma”
Choosing a Trustee can be a difficult decision for many individuals. Often, estate planning attorneys will recommend clients to appoint a Disinterested Trustee for various reasons. The article below helps to illustrate the concept of a Disinterested Trustee and...
From “We” to “Me”: The Estate Plan Makeover Every Divorced Person Needs
When married, it often feels natural to name a spouse as the primary beneficiary, attorney-in-fact in a durable power of attorney (“DPOA”), agent under a health care proxy (“HCP”) and fiduciary of the estate as well as the guardian of shared children. Although divorce...
Automatic GST Allocation: Helpful Shortcut or Costly Mistake? Five Challenges Posed by Automatic Allocation
The Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) tax was created to prevent families from avoiding estate taxes by transferring wealth directly to grandchildren. While automatic GST allocation rules were introduced to simplify the process, they can create unintended consequences. From inflexible allocations to mismatches with estate planning goals, relying on these defaults without careful oversight can lead to wasted exemptions and unexpected tax liabilities. Understanding the risks is key to preserving wealth across generations.
Understanding the Supreme Court’s Ruling in Connelly v. United States: Four Concerns for Business Owners
The Supreme Court’s decision in Connelly v. United States has major implications for business owners using life insurance in buy-sell agreements. Discover how this ruling affects estate taxes, business valuations, and succession planning—and what steps you should take now to protect your interests.
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