Not all wedding expenditures result in taxable gifts, but it will be important to structure and document large expenses correctly to allocate them to hosting costs and thus avoid being classified as an indirect gift.

A charitable lead annuity trust, or CLAT, is a powerful estate planning tool to exploit a charitable deduction and potentially pass future appreciation to heirs without any transfer tax cost.

A probate court can impose a constructive trust to restrain the use or transfer of assets as an equitable remedy to prevent unjust enrichment if the court believes that property is wrongfully obtained or held.

The intended purpose behind all of these uniform laws is to provide consistency and efficiency in the disposition of wealth in a highly mobile society.

A spouse’s consent is not normally required when a plan participant takes a distribution or borrows from his/her qualified plan account, such as a 401(k) plan account.

Whenever the topic of a domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) comes up, there is always the cautionary remark that other states which do not have DAPT legislation may not respect a DAPT that is established in another state that does recognize such a trust.

Promoted tax planning ‘strategies’ often fall into the ‘too good to be true’ category. With the IRS on the lookout for the use of Charitable LLCs, it would be wise to stay clear of them.

Borrowing against a life insurance policy’s cash surrender value can sometimes lead to phantom taxable income if the debt owed exceeds the policy’s cash surrender value.

 Last week the Congressional Budget Office forecasted that the Social Security trust fund is set to run out one year earlier than originally projected- in 2032,  not 2033. If Congress does not act to address this shortfall, there could be a 24% reduction in benefits, for all Social Security beneficiaries.

A rollover of that QDRO-awarded separate account balance to an IRA will be without any penalty, regardless of the former spouse’s age.