Family Office Best Practices

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Powerful Trust Planning Opportunities in 2011
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The 2010 Tax Act reinstated the gift, estate and generationskipping transfer taxes that were repealed earlier in 2010. The reinstatement comes with increased transfer tax exemptions and favorable rates for 2011 and 2012. Consequently, the opportunity for making new or additional gifts to trusts has never been more favorable.

Private Trust Company 101
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Amid growing interest in private trust companies as an alternative to single family offices, which may become subject to SEC registration, the authors outline the types, popular venues, and key benefits of private trust companies for wealth owners.

Tax Implications of Proposed U.S. Budget for High Net Worth Families
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President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 includes a reduction in the real estate exemption, a minimum 10-year term for new GRATs, and restrictions on valuing family-controlled entities as well as higher tax rates and reduced savings from itemized deductions for higher-income individuals.

Trust Structure Considerations for Family Offices
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This presentation given at the workshop, "The Evolution of the Small Family Office: Models for Sustainability," covers popular trust structures that promote family involvement, education and succession, and important family considerations and provisions relating to trusts. It also reviews ways to preserve investment management flexibility for a family office within a trust, and key non-tax advantages of trusts.

IRS Likely to Announce New Voluntary Disclosure Program
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As the financial world grows increasingly integrated and jurisdictions share ever more information, taxpayers who continue to hold undeclared taxable accounts are at much greater risk of being discovered. The new voluntary disclosure program may represent the best chance to come clean with the IRS.

FTC Goes Public with Staff Preliminary Report on Online Privacy Issues
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The FTC is seeking input on this report, which proposes safeguards for data gathered online and offline from consumers. The three main areas addressed are privacy by design in all business practices, simplified privacy choice for consumers and greater transparency related to company data policies.

The Outsourced CIO Model
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The author explores the advantages and disadvantages of the outsourced CIO model relative to non-discretionary models and suggests how investors might think about choosing between the two models.

Personal Security in the 21st Century
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Affluent individuals and families are increasingly becoming targets of criminal activity, such as stalking, kidnapping, theft, harm and vandalism. Does your family use any wireless communication devices? Do you regularly check for spyware on your computers? How do you dispose of sensitive information? These are just some of the potential vulnerabilities that exist. Unfortunately, these circumstances are real, and you need to be prepared for the unexpected.

Retaining Talented Employees to Enhance Productivity
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The key to any successfully operated wealth management organization depends on having the right talent in the right role. This 2010 FOX Fall Forum session includes a discussion of findings from recent FOX research that focuses on critical talent issues, such as recruiting, compensation and team structure. In addition, a family office executive will present findings from her own employee satisfaction survey and discuss how the information has been helpful in identifying what motivates her employees.