Remainder Purchase Marital Trust

Some married individuals who want to adopt estate planning strategies to transfer wealth at little or no transfer tax exposure might want to take a look at a remainder purchase marital trust while prevailing interest rates are, relatively speaking, high.

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Gift Tax Returns – Adequate Disclosure

As 2026 inches closer, we can expect a huge number of gifts to be made to use the donor’s large available bonus applicable exemption amount until it expires on 12/31/25.

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Welcome to the Department of Labor’s Newest Fiduciary Rule

A new Department of Labor Fiduciary Rule has been published that would cover advice to roll retirement funds into an IRA which is intended to address perceived conflicts of interest.

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Trusts and Divorce

Protecting a trust beneficiary’s interest in a Trust in a divorce proceeding is becoming more and more difficult as states seem to ignore separate property principles.

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Backdoor Roth Conversion: Two Potential ‘Traps?’

A backdoor Roth IRA conversion should be of interest to high earners who do not qualify to contribute under the current Roth IRA earned income rules,

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The Early Distribution Penalty (and It’s Exceptions)

We all know about the 10% excise tax, aka penalty, for taking a distribution from an IRA prior to age 59 ½. We are also aware of the several statutory exceptions to this excise tax, although keeping these exceptions, or safe harbors, straight in our minds can be more of a challenge.

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Crypto and Charities

Charities might consider revisiting their gift-acceptance-policies to include cryptocurrency.

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IRA Contributions and the QCD Offset

While making qualified charitable contributions (QCDs) has become a highly popular way to carry out charitable giving objectives while at the same time reducing taxable required minimum distributions (RMDs), not to be forgotten are the aggregation/offset QCD limitations.

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Potential Impact of Project 2025 on Future Estate Planning

If Mr. Trump is re-elected President, and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is adopted by his administration, there will be a profound impact on tax planning as we know it.

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SEP vs. SIMPLE IRA – How to Choose

With employers now being offered some tax credits to induce them to adopt a retirement plan for their employees, they may be faced with a choice of establishing either a SEP IRA plan or a SIMPLE IRA plan.

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