As we saw in Part 1 of this series, a grantor retained annuity trust (or “GRAT”) can be a very effective way to remove the government as a 40% silent partner in the potential upside of a business venture in several types of circumstances. In the pre-2010 regime of low estate tax exemptions, two common […]
The pursuit of wealth has long been part of the American Dream, and a positive feature of the current $5.34 million estate tax exemption (high by historic standards) is that entrepreneurs have more “run room” before the Federal government becomes a 40% silent partner in the upside of all the work, creativity, striving, and risk […]
A decade ago, when the estate tax exemption was much lower, the irrevocable life insurance trust (or “ILIT”) was a component of many (or even most) tax-aware estate plans. It was common for physicians, attorneys, architects, engineers, and corporate executives to have insurance trusts, without necessarily knowing why that was so. Reassured by their attorneys […]
Families at all levels of wealth commonly include charitable giving as a part of their estate plans. This is gratifying for the families, and absolutely essential to maintaining and building excellence in so many civic areas, including hospitals, social services, conservation, the arts, and education. It’s also true, however, that the business cultures of the […]
Willie Sutton is famous for allegedly answering a question about why he robbed banks with the brilliant retort: “Because that’s where the money is.” We can’t help but think of Sutton when we consider how commonly older, richer people become targets for economic exploitation. Potential exploiters are many: domestic help, caregivers, economically dependent children, profligate […]
We hope this mini-series on the knotty estate planning issues presenting in the (fictional) later lives of the Drapers convinced you that blended families often face much greater risks to relationships, harmony, and the orderly flow of wealth than they might first realize. Elective share statutes are one of the main unrealized dangers. In part […]
When a married couple doesn’t have the same beneficiaries in each of their estate plans, elective share statutes make it an unstable situation, as we began to see in part 1 — which ended with the fictional, widowed Megan Draper realizing that Don’s will had left her a lot of issues to consider. Let’s introduce […]
For many decades, when the estate tax exemption was much lower, a common perception was that estate planning centered on tax planning, reduction, and avoidance. This was never quite true: estate planning was always about the interaction between families, taxes, money, and (sometimes) the family business. Nonetheless, as the “taxes” element fades a little, the […]
For retired persons or couples with less than $1.5 million to $2 million in wealth, potential long term care costs are one of the greatest risks they face. Long term care costs can deplete parents’ assets, and also substantially reduce the eventual inheritances of adult children. Let’s consider these issues with a case study featuring […]
In our previous post, we used a case study of the hypothetical Widget family to illustrate the unintended discord families can face when the founder’s descendants are “frozen in” to the family business. There are many approaches the founding generation can use in its own planning to avoid “freeze-in”. A funded buy-sell agreement can be […]
Every stage of the family business “life cycle” presents its own distinct challenges. Entrepreneurs commonly give tremendous energy and attention to growing the business during the prime of their own careers, and rightly so. Prudent business owners also look ahead to their own retirement, and transitioning the business to a new generation of management, whether […]
Our previous post on per stirpes and per capita discussed a case study for Don and Betty Draper’s dysfunctional and very entertaining fictional family. Per stirpes or per capita distributions are important decisions, though, at almost all levels of wealth – certainly not only the “rich and famous”, but also the “modest and hardworking.” Marion […]