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“Emerging Adulthood” and Life Cycle Planning
It was exciting and gratifying last weekend when the New York Times published a really excellent article by Jeffrey J. Selingo in its “Education Life” section that wove together several themes we’ve written on during the last two years and cited many of the same sources you’ll find in our life cycle planning bibilography. I encourage you […]
Fun, Not Friction: LLC Planning for Family Vacation Property
Many of my clients own second homes at the beach, or the lake. Less frequently, clients own large properties (often farms) that have deep family and historic significance. In either instance, clients often want to keep these vacation or farm properties “in the family.” Unfortunately, there are many instances in which these good intentions work […]
Ruml PLC is Proud to Sponsor Derby Divas 2016
Support, engagement, and partnership from clients and friends of Ruml PLC has been nothing short of extraordinary during the firm’s first 6 months – thank you! We’re very pleased to be in a position to give back by sponsoring the 10th Annual Derby Divas event supporting the Norton Healthcare Foundation. It will be held at Rodes for […]
The Demographic Context for Asset Sales by Baby Boomers
My practice, and the practices of most colleagues and friends who are also trust and estate attorneys, has become busier than any of us ever expected after the 2010 tax act made high estate tax exemptions an (allegedly) permanent part of the landscape. I think one issue, more than any other, has been the key […]
Customizing a Trust to Reflect Your Own Investment Philosophy
One of the most fascinating aspects of my practice is working with clients who expose me to so many different case studies of how wealth is grown, maintained, or dissipated. What I’ve seen demonstrates that different investment approaches, over time, carry dramatically different potential and risks, and produce substantially different results. Along those lines, this […]
Sidestepping Risks From Job Loss After Age 50
When people in their 30s and 40s think about their earning trajectory through a normal retirement age, they should take into account the tendency for income growth to taper after age 40 in many fields, and the risks of unplanned early retirement, caused by health problems, corporate downsizing, or otherwise. Job loss after age 40 […]
Designing Trusts for a Surviving Spouse’s Remarriage
In the 90s, when the Internet was new and Bill Clinton still had more tomorrows than yesterdays, the estate tax exemption was $600,000, an amount even Thomas Piketty might think was rather low. In that sort of environment, credit shelter trust planning for married couples felt almost mandatory. We live in a very different world today. […]
Designing Incentive Trusts: Adam Smith and The Wealth of Beneficiaries
Certainly one of Adam Smith’s core insights in The Wealth of Nations was that incentives matter. I believe examples are everywhere about how Smith was correct – ranging from California water shortages and student loan debt, to tax policy and white collar crime. If incentives matter in these areas, shouldn’t they matter in designing trusts that maximize successful outcomes for […]
Design Factors For Your Family’s Trust
These are interesting years in estate planning for families in the Upper Middle and Lower Upper Classes. As a high estate tax exemption has reduced the tax-driven imperatives for using trusts to hold inheritances, non-tax applications of trusts come to the fore. As non-tax issues in trust design assume greater relative importance, what factors should […]
Design Options for Education Trusts
I often work with “Wealth Creators” who have built substantial wealth themselves, most notably as founders of companies or early-stage employees at startups. I also work with “Inheritors” managing wealth built in prior generations for the benefit of descendants. Although every instance has unique aspects, in general, I find that Wealth Creators have conflicted feelings about what being […]
What About the “Stuff”? – Options for Distributing Tangible Personal Property from Estates or Trusts
During an estate or trust administration, it’s easy to divide and distribute financial assets. Distributing tangible personal property (such as furniture, collections, artwork, jewelry, etc.) can be much harder. Executors, trustees, and beneficiaries are usually very surprised by how little household goods and personal property are worth in an estate administration context. Nonetheless, simply because […]
Avoiding Family Fights In Estate Administration
Estate administration can be a frustrating experience for families and their advisors, because it’s an occasion when families fight. Sometimes the fights are necessary, and unavoidable. Many other times, to a detached observer, the fights seem silly. Whether justified (or not), whether necessary (or not), conflict makes estate administration cost more (even when litigation doesn’t […]