Below you will find articles from our legal journals on a variety of pressing legal topics.
Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of a trust's beneficiaries, but with new tax rates and brackets in effect, deciding the best course of action is now harder. Income-accumulating trusts typically pay a much higher...
The American Law Institute CLE (ALI CLE) has announced that Employee Benefit Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers will be held on September 24 – 25, 2018, in Washington, D.C. This nationally recognized...
Estate planners eager to help their clients make the most of the temporarily doubled estate and gift tax exemption have a daunting array of planning techniques to pick from with no one-size-fits-all solutions. “We’ve got a whole bunch of options...
A provision in the new tax law allowing for tax deferral on some stock options may have been appealing in theory, but six months later, it’s a non-starter for most companies. IRS guidance could make the provision more attractive, but some of the...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) added major limitations on the deductibility of compensation paid to top executives of companies with publicly-traded securities. The $1 million limit in Code Sec. 162(m) on the deduction of compensation paid...
Wealthy widows and widowers on the lookout for other partners can multiply their estate and gift tax exclusions thanks to taxpayer-friendly regulations that Congress has declined to reverse so far. “Congress was worried about the ‘black widow’ who...
Wealthy individuals concerned that the higher estate and gift tax exemptions will disappear in 2026 can use a special trust planning technique to ensure they use up their bonus exclusion amount without giving up much. Those who are interested in...
The exclusion of several professional service fields from the benefits of the new pass-through deduction left many professionals dismayed, but non-grantor trusts could help bypass that obstacle. Grantor trusts have been the entity of choice for...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act’s delayed repeal of the deductibility of alimony payments and a provision governing trusts in cases of divorce may add some urgency to couples looking to separate. “As a tax policy matter, we encourage divorce in 2018,”...