The Proposed Regulations with regard to the deductibility of debts and expenses of a decedent’s estate are precipitating some strong opposition due to their failure to take into consideration reality, especially when it comes to a family held business as a part of the decedent’s estate.

There is a growing sense that Congress will tackle its ‘improved’ retirement planning legislation after the midterm elections, with yet another change in the investment universe of 401(k) plans.

There are some provisions in the SECURE Act 2.0 that may have either been overlooked or which not have received much attention in the media. The SECURE Act 2.0 has many provisions, but just how impactful they will be to promote more retirement savings is subject to serious debate.

The sale of appreciated assets to a grantor trust in exchange for an installment note is a popular estate planning technique that is used to remove appreciating assets from the seller’s taxable estate, but without incurring a capital gain tax on the sale to the trust. Unfortunately, a couple of questions still remain unanswered with the settlor’s sale of an appreciating asset to his/her grantor trust in exchange for an installment promissory note. Because these questions have not been readily answered by the IRS, it would be best for the grantor trust to pay off the promissory note in full before the settlor dies.

Partisan politics has now entered the world of investing, specifically socially responsible investing and environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, investment focused practices.

The benefits and limitations of a conventional spousal lifetime access trust, or SLAT, are fairly straightforward. However, SLATs can also be structured differently to accomplish different tax or creditor protection objectives. As such, a variety of form SLATs should be considered to best achieve the settlor’s objectives.

Naming a minor as the beneficiary of an inherited retirement account requires a fair amount of thought, either as to the use of a minors account or a Trust for the minor. Moreover, there are rules, and exceptions to rules, under the SECURE Act’s Proposed Regulations that make distribution decisions even more complicated if the goal is to stretch the taxable distributions to the longest period possible.

An advisor’s recommendation to liquidate the investments in a 401(k) account, or to make a qualified plan-to-IRA rollover, is a securities recommendation according to the Department of Labor (DOL), the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), and FINRA.

Victims of fraud may be able to avoid having the distribution taken from their IRA taxed, despite blowing the 60-day rollover rule, but only at the expense and delay of obtaining a Private Letter Ruling from the IRS.

Simple rules need to be following to avoid paying taxes, or possibly a penalty, when distributions are taken from a Roth IRA.