Latest Updates

1. Charitable Gifts Of Life Insurance - Part I
The utilization of life insurance in plans for charitable giving can provide substantial tax benefits, while satisfying the taxpayer`s philanthropic inclinations and providing meaningful benefits to charitable organizations.
2. Charitable Gifts Of Life Insurance; Planning Ideas - Part II
Part II discusses planning ideas for prospective donors. Financial advisors who work with this market have often found a rich vein of new business.
3. IRS Issues Final Regs for Valuation of Annuity Contracts in Roth IRA Conversions
Among the most important considerations in deciding whether to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA is the amount that is includible as a result of the conversion.
4. Waiver of the 60-Day Tax-free Rollover Requirement
Does the accumulated experience of rollover waiver letters give us any basis for predicting how likely a particular client’s request is to be approved? Some situations are more favorable than others, and allow us to suggest some guidelines.
5. U.S. Estate and Gift Tax Consequences for Non-U.S. Citizens
A decedent who at the time of death was not a resident or citizen of the United States, may nonetheless be subject to U.S. estate tax if at the time of death he or she owned property in the United States.
6. First Half of 2008 - The 25 Most Viewed Docs
The 25 most viewed documents.
7. Long-Term Care Insurance—A Desirable, Tax-Advantaged Employee Benefit
With mass retirement looming for the baby boom generation just as their projected lifespans lengthen, employers are well advised from the human resources point of view to consider making long-term care (LTC) insurance available to their employees.
8. The Just Enough Funding Technique: An Innovative New Strategy
The just enough funding technique is designed to meet a married couples estate planning objective of funding a credit shelter trust at the death of the first spouse to die only to the extent necessary or desirable to avoid estate tax at the second death.
9. Cancellation of Policy Subject to Loan Can Generate Taxable Income
The Atwood case underscores the painful income tax consequences which can accompany the lapsing or cancellation of a life insurance policy whose cash value has previously been substantially depleted through policy loans.
10. Power of Appointment for Future Flexibility
Powers of appointment are a valuable tool in estate plans, because they allow for future flexibility in the ultimate disposition of the donors property which is placed in a trust.
11. Summer Is A- Comin In...
Take some time this summer to make an investment in yourself. Learning new skills and better ways to serve your clients demands a certain commitment of time and energy—but the payoff can be spectacular.
12. Practical Succession Planning for the Family-Owned Business
An effectively developed succession plan provides for a smooth transition in management and ownership with a minimum of transfer taxes.
13. Certain Split-interest Strategies Helped By Current Low Interest Environment
Why is it that the value of the remainder under a GRAT is less if the section 7520 rate is lower, and why is that a plus?
14. Crummey Powers And The Code Section 2036 Tax Trap
The discussion illustrates how easily a couple might fall into the 2036 tax trap, even while engaging in otherwise sophisticated tax saving estate planning techniques.
15. Split Dollar Life Insurance Funding: You Mean People Still Do That?
Despite the gloom and doom forecasted by many in the insurance industry and the legal profession, the final Regulations did not sound the death knell for split-dollar planning.
16. Modification of Split-Dollar Arrangement Not a Material Change to Underlying Life Insurance Contract
Notice 2008-42 provides guidance regarding the application of 101(j) EOLI rules and 264(f) to life insurance contracts that are subject to split-dollar arrangements.
17. Notice 2008-30 Provides Guidance on PPA 2006 Distribution-Related Provisions.
Notice 2008-30 provides guidance on distribution-related provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 that are effective in 2008 including rollovers from eligible retirement plans to Roth IRAs.
18. Supreme Court Opens Door to Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims Against Plan Administrators for Individual Account Losses.
The Court’s LaRue decision is a marked shift from its prior ruling that the ERISA provision concerning breach of fiduciary duties protects the entire plan, rather than the rights of an individual beneficiary.
19. Rights Of Creditors In Insurance
If there were no insurance exemption from the claims of creditors, the purpose for owning insurance would be undermined. The financial security of an insured`s dependents would depend upon whether the insured was solvent or insolvent at the time of death.
20. Rev Proc 2008-24 Finalizes Guidance on Partial Exchanges
What happens if only a portion of an existing annuity contract is exchanged for a new contract, while the balance of the original contract is retained? Is it a qualified exchange transaction under §1035?
21. The Effect of Divorce on Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations are among the most important aspects of financial planning with life insurance. All too often, circumstances change but beneficiary designations do not, frustrating the policyholder`s post-death objectives.
22. Minors as IRA Beneficiaries: Help Your Clients Do It Right
Under common law minors cannot own property in their own names. This does not mean that a minor cannot inherit an IRA or be designated as the beneficiary of an IRA; it means that their are special considerations.
23. Knight v. Commissioner - U.S. Supreme Court Rules On Important Issue Regarding Income Taxation of Trusts
U.S. Supreme Court decisions relating to income tax are rare. Rarer still are Supreme Court decisions involving the income taxation of trusts. Knight resolves a significant controversy with important implications to trusts.
24. President Signs Economic Stimulus Act
On February 13 President Bush signed into law the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, the highlight of which is the government`s issuance of rebate checks to more than 130 million Americans.
25. Hedging Estate Tax Uncertainty with ILITs
The unique characteristics of life insurance make an irrevocable life insurance trust a unique hedge against both tax uncertainty and the contingency of mortality.
26. The Transfer for Value Tax Trap
As a general principle, the proceeds of a life insurance policy paid by reason of the insured`s death are exempt from federal income tax. The transfer for value rule is an exception to this general principle and is discussed in this article.
27. Recent Case Spotlights Investor Initiated SOLI and the Insurable Interest Rule
It would seem that if these transactions are to be invalidated by reason of the insurable-interest rule, the winner should be the insurance company.
28. The Leveraged Family Business CLAT
Learn about a technique that allows decedents to pass their closely held businesses to their beneficiaries through a testamentary CLAT.
29. Life Insurance Delivers Reliable Tax Benefits
The final sales push of the year is a good time to remind ourselves of the reliable and powerful tax benefits of life insurance.