This memorandum is designed to outline some of the basic administrative steps to be followed by the Trustee of an irrevocable life insurance trust (hereinafter referred to as an “ILIT” or the “Trust”). When properly implemented and administered, an ILIT prevents the imposition of estate tax on any life insurance policies owned by the Trust
Client Memoranda
Domicile and Residence
Special Considerations Regarding Domicile in Florida
Though the words are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, domicile and residence are two distinct legal concepts. Your domicile is the place you intend to make your home. You may be a resident of more than one state, but you are domiciled in only one state. Domicile is…
Critical Tax Considerations When Structuring a Family Office
A wealthy family may create a family office to achieve a wide range of objectives. These objectives may include realizing the benefits of pooled capital in order to maximize the universe of available investment opportunities at optimal cost; maximizing investment returns; ensuring financial security for future generations; and providing coordinated administrative, managerial and wealth advisory…
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts
Assets that you own at your death are included in your taxable estate. Lifetime gifting offers an excellent opportunity to remove assets from your taxable estate, yet it is often psychologically and economically difficult for people to make gifts and completely relinquish control over an asset. For a client considering a lifetime gifting program, a…
Transferring a Personal Residence into an Irrevocable Trust
A personal residence can be an ideal asset to gift to a properly designed trust for your descendants or other beneficiaries.
The basic concept is deceptively simple: Parent establishes an irrevocable trust for the benefit of children, thereby locking in use of Parent’s lifetime gift exemption as a hedge against a reduction in the exemption…
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)
GRATs Allow Transfer of Wealth Outside Your Estate With Minimal or No Gift Tax
Now is a good time to consider wealth transfer strategies that remove assets from your taxable estate. A common strategy is a grantor retained annuity trust, commonly referred to as a GRAT.
Description. A GRAT is a strategy that freezes the…
Instructions for Facilitating a Child’s Home Purchase
Many of our clients want to facilitate their child’s purchase of a home. In doing so, there are several options to consider:
Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (“QPRT”) is a special kind of irrevocable trust that can be used to transfer your residence to your children at a significantly reduced gift tax cost.
How This Technique Works. During your lifetime, you transfer your residence to a trust and retain the right to continue to live in…