Summit in Sight – House Finally Passes the ‘Build Back Better’ Act
If you’re looking for insight into America’s legislative process, consider the wisdom of the Three Rules of Mountaineering. “It’s always further...
Stop the Presses, Again – New ‘Build Back Better’ Draft Reincludes IRA Constraints for Wealthy
Stop the Presses, Again – New ‘Build Back Better’ Draft Reincludes IRA Constraints for Wealthy We work hard to keep our clients up to date on the...
Woes for the Wealthy – If Grantor Trusts Fall, Life Insurance Could Become Part of Taxable Estates
It’s an issue that will touch only the wealthiest taxpayers. Yet I feel the hit; how much can they take? New Englanders ever sympathize with...
Mean Ways and Means – Last-Minute Taxation Changes Upend Estate Planners and Clients
Taxes are like dentistry. I don’t hear any dissent. The news from the checkup sometimes isn’t so grand: you need a filling, even a root canal...
Locking the Back Door – Democrats Readying Changes to Retirement Account Rules for the Wealthy
A few weeks back, we were sipping our sparkling wine with the estate planning crew, celebrating a minor victory. Congressional Democrats had...
Say It Is So – Joe Biden’s Inheritance Tax Plan May Have Bitten the Dust
Ladies and gentlemen of the planning community, and our beloved customers, brace yourselves: we may be facing good news. We’ve long known that tax...
Avoiding Imperishable Embarrassment – Protecting Your Digital Assets
“The soul of man is imperishable and immortal,” Plato tells us. What a relief. But what of our earthly remains? Once we ship out for good, our...
The Time Bomb’s Last Seconds – Eleventh-Hour Responses to Biden’s Tax Boost
As I write this on Wednesday, September 8 – just past midnight, that’s how writers roll – the best estimate I can get on when Congress will vote...
Dear Prudence – Are Well-Funded Retirees Not Spending Enough?
Down the halls of retirement planning offices, the air has been ringing with warnings: the longevity crisis is here. You may live to 100! Act now!...
Preparing for the e-Afterlife – Estate Planning Tips for Digital Assets
How would you like to awake one day, and find out that you’re a meme? You might need to look up that term, still something of a neologism. ‘Meme’...
Against the 0.5% – Tax Law Proposals That Could Upend Estate Planning
I am not now, nor have I ever been a socialist, let alone a communist; I normally declare this as patently self-evident. Yet now that I ruminate...
The Unfairness Doctrine – Would Killing the Step-Up Wreck the Economy?
Prolonged years of study have led me to the conclusion: taxation isn’t fair. If my mother were here to read these slim words, I know what she’d...
Estate Planning and Cybercurrency – Taking Proper Care of Invisible Assets
Stop the presses: I nearly had a good idea. In researching this article, I discovered how expensive it is to buy a piece of the best of the new...
Judge Not and All That – Justifying a Higher Estate Tax
Is paying taxes a moral issue? I’m not so sure, but then I’m commonly the odd man out. The Biden administration has proposed a raft of new taxes –...
Fatal Inflation – If Inheritance Taxes Rise, Life Insurance Can Soften the Blow on Heirs
Our word for today is a delightful curiosity: the ancient Greek ‘oikos’. It kicks up a dickens of trouble for translators, variably meaning...
Minefield, Mapped Out – Avoiding Common Succession Planning Missteps
Succession planning isn’t rocket science: if my launch booster is chosen over your design, you’re unlikely to alter the thrust coefficient...