Careful Estate Planning Overcomes IRS Objections Even After Sudden Death Keller v. United States resulted in a huge family limited partnership (FLP) win—$125 million—in Fifth Circuit Court. In this article, learn what the lead attorneys at the Dallas-based law firm of Meadows, Collier, Reed, Cousins, Crouch, and Ungerman have to say about FLP planning and their victory as well as what every financial advisor can learn from this monumental taxpayer victory.
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Few Business Owners Seem to Even Know How to Make a Good Guess at What Their Business is Worth. NY Times Introduces Technology to Help—and Certified Advisers Provide Extra Value. Mark Cohen, at The New York Times Small Business Guide, reports: “At 53, Joe Ritz is old enough to remember a time when many of the classic cars that now pull into his specialized repair shop were new. “It’s one field where it pays to be a senior citizen,” he said. It’s Critical for a Business Owner to Know the Value of His Business; Here are Tips on Technology, Advisors,…
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Star Wars Creator Strikes Savvy Deal with Disney Quentin Fottrell at CBS MarketWatch reports that Disney will buy George Lucas’ LucasFilm for $4.05 billion in cash and stock, the two companies announced Tuesday: Wade Westhoff, a financial adviser based in Danville, Calif., says of the Disney deal. “This is a textbook example of exit planning for a private business owner.” (Lucas and a spokesman for LucasFilm were not immediately available for comment.) That Lucas struck a deal in 2012 may be no accident, either, advisers say. Long-term capital gains tax from the sale of assets held more than one year are…
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Today Individual Federal Gift Law Exemption is $5.12M. In Months it May Drop to $1M. Result: Surging Demand for Appraisals. Lou Carlozo at Reuters reports that faced with the possibility of the lifetime gift tax exemption dropping precipitously next year and the estate tax rate rising, wealthy individuals are rushing to transfer their assets to family members. More:
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It’s Prime Time for Estate Planning Market volatility may be tough on the nerves, opines the Wall Street Journal, but it could be a boon for wealthy families looking to shelter assets from taxes while helping their children. Here’s how to devise strategies on discounts, GRATs, and loans. Additional advice: take advantage of low interest rates and exploit the federal gift-tax exemption.