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Under the IRS’s proposed new regulations, they would permanently and profoundly change estate planning for families that own a controlling interest in a privately held corporation, partnership, or limited liability company. The IRS has requested comments on the proposed regulations by November 2, 2016, and will hold a hearing on December 1, 2016. Even if the regulations are finalized in something close to their current form, portions of the regulations likely will be subject tochallenge on the grounds that they exceed the scope of the statute.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that, as we age, our cognitive powers often decline. To assist people as they reach this stage in their lives, states provide a mechanism by which a person’s friends and family may petition a court to declare him or her incapacitated, and for the court to appoint a guardian to manage his or her affairs. While the guardianship process is meant to assist people in cognitive decline, it also exposes them to considerable risk. However, there are steps that you and your family can take to minimize those risks, including designating a preneed guardian.

Cloud-based applications, also known as Software as a Service (SaaS), offer significant benefits. They are highly affordable, require minimal IT involvement, have no hardware requirements, and offer great flexibility. Yet there can be significant risks to a firm if it does not review vendors carefully. Unfortunately, security controls vary significantly from one SaaS provider to the next. Knowing what to look for when selecting SaaS vendors and implementing sound security measures will help protect your firm against a data breach and the significant repercussions that come with it.

Commercial agreements come in a variety of types, but most have certain common provisions that should be carefully reviewed in the context of the underlying transaction covered by the agreement. When entering or reviewing one of these agreements, it is important to address the five key provisions that sometimes go unnoticed or are not given proper attention in the review process: (1) Confidentiality Provisions; (2) Indemnity Provisions; (3) Consequential and Special Damages; (4) Product Warranties; and (5) Audit Rights.

A significant step in the acquisition process is determining the structure of the deal. The two most common deal structures are: (1) the purchase of the ownership interests of the target (such as a stock deal), and (2) the purchase of substantially all of the target’s assets (or an asset deal). In an asset deal, the implication is that the target’s liabilities that are not expressly assumed by the acquirer remain liabilities of the target, and the acquirer will not have exposure to them. As a general rule, this is correct.

As an employer, you may receive a notice from a health insurance Exchange that an employee has applied for coverage and is eligible for a premium assistance tax credit. These Exchange notices—and its relationship to the assessment of employer shared responsibility tax penalties under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”)—have generated both confusion and concern among employers.

For decades, families seeking advice on how to invest their hard-earned capital were forced to endure “beauty contests” where potential advisors attempted to demonstrate their supposedly-unique skills and/or access to information. More often than not, it seemed families would choose an advisor only to inevitably experience disappointment when their actual results didn’t uphold the promises made by the advisor.

News reports show large-scale data breaches are on the rise and affecting large retailers and even consumer credit organizations. There are numerous categories of cyber crime, but the ones that affect the most victims include identity theft, credit card fraud, and social networking scams. However, there are actions you can take to better protect yourself, your family, and your lifestyle from cyber crime and its long-lasting effects.

The proverb “Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations” is pervasive across many cultures. Why is this the case and how can your family be exceptional in your quest to sustain your wealth? Observations from decades of working with families on this challenge provide seven insights on how families fail to sustain their wealth from generation to generation, and how you can learn from them.

Travis Roy’s story is well known—in 1995, the rising college hockey star suffered an on-ice injury that left him paralyzed from the neck down after only 11 seconds of his first Boston University game. That tragic accident ended Travis’ hockey career, but it marked the beginning of his decades-long commitment to helping others through the Travis Roy Foundation. As the Foundation grew, Travis faced a critical question: how can a grass roots organization powered by volunteers manage growth and sustain its impact without a sophisticated support structure?