The Private Client Services team is pleased to announce the launch of the “Estate Planning with Digital Assets” series. In the first issue, Vanessa L. Maczko discusses terminology that estate planners and their clients must understand to engage in conversations about digital assets in an estate planning context, as well as the necessary information clients
On this episode, join Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear as they discuss mechanisms we have at our disposal to “fix” an irrevocable trust. The use of decanting, which is traditionally thought of as moving all the assets of one trust to a new trust, is one such mechanism. With the adoption of the Uniform
On this episode, join Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear as they discuss key considerations when addressing Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax. With a particular focus on interesting planning opportunities and things to look out for when addressing GST tax, Erin and Michael emphasize the importance of thinking strategically about GST tax and its effects on
Our world today is more interconnected than ever before, and our clients are increasingly living, working, and investing across borders. That interconnectivity can create risks for trusts. If a trust is deemed a “foreign trust” for U.S. federal tax purposes, that can cause unintended and adverse tax consequences for both the grantor (creator) of the
With educational expenses on the rise, planning for your children’s education while they are still young is usually advisable. Many families find that a “section 529 education savings plan,” or more commonly known as a “529 plan,” works well for this purpose, but there are potential
On this episode, join Partners Michael Clear and Vanessa Maczko as they discuss estate planning considerations for digital assets, which often require special attention when compared to more traditional assets, like real property and marketable securities. For example, sentimental digital assets (such as social media accounts, email, photos on your computer or cell phone), may
On this episode, join Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear as they discuss strategies for preserving family legacy assets across generations. With a particular focus on the management and division of interests in real property, such as family compounds and homesteads, Erin and Michael discuss considerations related to carrying costs, ownership structures, bloodline protection and
Courts are often reluctant to enforce no-contest clauses in estate and probate matters. As noted in our prior alert on the Connecticut Appellate Court case Salce v. Cardello, even where the terms of the no-contest clause appear to have been breached, the enforcement of a no-contest clause can be
On this episode, join Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear as they delve deeper into a discussion on creating SLATs for married clients to use up both clients’ lifetime exemption amounts, while also reducing the likelihood of the imposition of the Reciprocal Trust Doctrine by the IRS. Citing several examples, Erin and Michael provide strategies
On this episode, join Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear as they discuss one of the hottest topics in the estate planning world, spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), and the implications of using SLATs in a post-Tax Cuts and Jobs Act world. Focusing primarily on maximizing the use of one’s lifetime exemption amount and removing