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Please Click HerePosted on February 5, 2018 by Mark J. Bradley
As Shanna Yonke mentioned in her January 22, 2018 Legal Update The New Tax Law Provides Estate Planning Opportunities, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law on December 22, 2017. The Act (officially, Public Law 115-97) is the most sweeping tax legislation to be enacted in decades. It is broad in scope, […]
Posted on January 22, 2018 by GeraldM
Shortly before Christmas, Congress approved and President Trump signed into law the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. The new law increases the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions from $5 million to $10 million, adjusted for inflation. The inflation-adjusted exemption amount for 2018 has not yet been released by the IRS, but commentators […]
Posted on April 3, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
When you hear the words “estate planning,” what do you think? The most common answers I hear mention “wills” or “trusts.” Although estate planning includes those documents, which carry out your plan after death, it also includes documents to help carry out your wishes while you are living. These documents are called powers of attorney, […]
Posted on November 11, 2016 by Mark J. Bradley
Donald Trump won more than 270 votes in the Electoral College and thus on January 20, 2017 he is going to become the 45th president of the United States. In anticipation of that event, congressional tax writers and proponents for tax overhaul are optimistically planning to move bipartisan tax legislation forward in the first part […]
Posted on August 4, 2016 by Ruder Ware Alumni
On Tuesday, the IRS released proposed regulations that will prevent owners of interests in a family business from being able to value those interests at a discount when transferring them to the next generation of owners, either through lifetime gifts or transfers at death. Under current law, a typical planning scenario with a family-owned corporation […]
Posted on September 11, 2014 by Ruder Ware Alumni
This is a tale of a shoemaker who was so busy making everyone else’s shoes that he forgot about his own. We all have plenty of time to get the “paperwork” of our estate planning done, right? For most of us, it’s just another thing to check off as far as being a responsible adult, […]
Posted on June 13, 2014 by GeraldM
Generally, federal and state bankruptcy laws protect traditional individual retirement accounts (IRAs) from creditor claims. Courts have differed, however, on whether those laws also protect an IRA that is inherited (an “inherited IRA”) by a child or other beneficiary of the account owner. Historically, Wisconsin courts have taken the position that inherited IRAs are not […]
Posted on May 19, 2014 by GeraldM
Under existing Wisconsin law, the trustee of an irrevocable trust that owns life insurance contracts is required to monitor the contracts to determine whether they are suitable investments for the trust and, if necessary, to take steps to prevent the lapse of the insurance coverage. These requirements apply whether or not the trustee was involved […]
Posted on May 1, 2014 by GeraldM
Have you ever seen fill-in-the-blank wills online or in a bookstore? They are inexpensive and can be completed relatively quickly. Unfortunately, those forms are not personalized to meet your estate planning needs and they may lack provisions that are essential to disposing of your assets upon your death in accordance with your wishes. The Florida […]
Posted on December 16, 2013 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Wisconsin has never been considered a leading jurisdiction for the creation and administration of trusts. Thanks to years of volunteer work by some dedicated Wisconsin attorneys, that perception will change significantly on July 1, 2014, when the new Wisconsin Trust Code will go into effect and replace the current Chapter 701 of the Wisconsin statutes. […]