Tax Reform Looming - What's At Stake

Private Foundations

Buy-Sell Agreements for Closely Held Businesses

What You Should Know about Tax Record Keeping.  An overview of what you should do with your tax records.  These items include old returns; substantiating information such as receipts, canceled checks, and diaries; and financial statements regarding stocks, bonds, and real estate.

Who Do You Trust?  An overview of the choices and limitations for some common estate planning techniques.

Some Do's and Don'ts & the New Estate Tax Rules.  We'd like to present some do's and don'ts with respect to the impact of the new legislation on your estate plan.

The Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. The uncertain circumstances created by EGTRRA in 2001 resulted from a 10-year legislative window followed by a "sunset" of the changes. The uncertainty continues to some degree because the new revisions will sunset after two years and further extensions or revisions will be required for 2013. It's early in the game with respect to the new tax rules and we're going to provide you with a summary and food for thought about the impact of these rules on estate plans.

Historically Low Interest Rates Provide Unique Estate Planning Possibilities. There are some unique opportunities created by current low interest rates for individuals who have the resources to consider making lifetime transfers to family members to effectuate estate-freezing or tax-reduction possibilities.

Year End Tax Planning Tips for 2010. There are many factors to be considered in planning for year-end tax strategies before 2011 arrives. This newsletter covers some of the important issues that affect taxpayers as we face a legislative environment that is still uncertain regarding several key strategies. The closer we get to the end of the year without a resolution of the fate of expiring tax laws, the more intense the scramble of year end planning will become.

Americans contributed almost $304 billion to charity in 2009 according to the Giving USA Foundation. The total numbers are slightly lower than prior to the recession, but remain strong. Virtually all donations are (and should be) motivated by philanthropic desires. However, there are other benefits of charitable giving, such as income or estate tax deductions. A specific exception is the availability of tax deductions for a contribution to a charitable lead trust (CLT).

Some Ideas to Reduce Transfer Taxes on Your Hard-Earned Wealth. The repeal of the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes for 2010 is set to expire at the end of the year. It is less likely at this time that the taxes will be reinstated retroactively to the beginning of the year. 2010 may provide a unique opportunity for making significant gifts. This newsletter will address some of the possibilities.

A Clever Tip for Harvesting Capital Losses. Our turbulent economy has created significant capital losses for many of us. In this month’s letter, we will look at an interesting planning application of an old strategy; utilizing a part-gift, part-sale transaction to absorb the accumulated losses.

The uncertainty about the future of the federal estate tax, state estate or inheritance taxes and other estate-settlement costs indicate that estate and financial plans should be flexible for changing needs. The durable power of attorney is an inexpensive device that permits a person to designate a family member or professional adviser to make critical financial and personal decisions and take action to preserve the estate when incapacity occurs.

An estate plan that is never updated works about as well as a car that is never serviced. They're both in great condition when they're new, but the wear and tear of the intervening years can take an enormous toll. Because even the most well-conceived plan cannot predict every contingency, a careful review of an existing estate plan is critical to making sure that it will continue to meet evolving needs.

After a long process of debate, procedure and Congressional politics, we have Health Care reform. The changes are actually in two pieces of legislation. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by the Senate and the House under normal parliamentary procedures, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 was passed under the reconciliation process in the Senate by a simple majority vote and approved by the House. President Obama signed both bills into law last month. The legislation contains sweeping changes to the health care system in the United States, with many tax and other revenue-raising provisions designed to offset portions of its cost.

Most people wonder what they should do with their tax records. These items include old returns; substantiating information such as receipts, canceled checks, and diaries; and financial statements regarding stocks, bonds, and real estate. The current law concerning estates has provided a rather unique and troubling situation with a temporary one-year repeal of the federal estate and generation-skipping taxes and a one-year repeal of the so-called basis step-up rules that otherwise establish the income-tax basis for assets passing to heirs. For 2010, the assets would pass to heirs under what is technically referred to as the modified carryover basis rules. We feel that this law may be changed retroactively, but barring that development, it would be imperative to understand the impact of this rule on record keeping and compliance. Here are some guidelines for determining what to keep and for how long.

The Health Care reform has lost momentum and may not come to fruition. It contained surprisingly little about the potentially devastating costs of long-term care needs. There is a bill (The CLASS Act--Community Living Assistance Services and Support) that was introduced by the late Senator Kennedy that would address some the concerns associated with long-term care, but its current prospects are uncertain.

The economy and action/inaction of Congress have created more than the usual upheaval with respect to tax planning moving forward into 2010. The federal estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes lapsed (for one year) at the end of 2009. This has generated some controversial discussion in the media and Congress will have to address this issue sometime this year.

You may have heard about the opportunity for all taxpayers to make a Roth IRA conversion beginning in 2010. This type of tax-planning opportunity only comes around once or twice a decade and should get serious consideration.