This article deals with the legal status of prenuptial agreements under English law.
An inherited fortune may come with strings attached as wealthy families make a college education or job experience a condition of inheritance. About 60 percent of families with more than $10 million in assets place stipulations like these, according to a report on attaining and retaining wealth from Barclays Wealth. The report also discusses the importance of family members agreeing on how wealth will be passed on.
A directed trustee is chosen to advise a trustee on investment or distribution decisions for a trust. But as key decision-makers, directed trustees face potential liability. This article by Richard Nenno of Wilmington Trust Corp. explores the role of directed trustees, examines statutes and case law and looks at how these trustees can limit their liability risk.
The Supreme Court recently decided the Knight case (Knight v. Comr., No. 06-1286, 101 AFTR2d ¶2008-380), affirming the Rudkin case, Rudkin v. Comr., 467 F.3d 149 (2nd Cir. 2006), which limits trust deductibility of investment management expenses, effectively increasing the taxes imposed on trusts which use professional investment managers.
Taxing bodies in the UK and the United States are taking a closer look at debt-related strategies by hedge funds that are now tax exempt. And as investment strategies become more diverse, this interest by fiscal authorities can only be expected to increase. This paper from PricewaterhouseCoopers explores the potential ramifications for global hedge funds and their investors.
This article provides guidance in the light of new IRS rules on the boundaries between legitimate business vs. pure entertainment use of a private jet. Preventing abuse is important in avoiding excessive tax liabilities since when aircraft use is "entertainment," the company loses its ability to deduct (by disallowance) some aircraft ownership and use costs.
New tax regulations from the Internal Revenue Service should have companies reviewing their business aircraft ownership structure and operations, according to a report from the law firm Wiley Rein. Depending on how this structure is set up, companies may find themselves subject to federal excise taxes on air transportation beginning January 1.
A guide to minimizing the after-tax proceeds from the sale of a family business. According to the article, legal exit preparations involve a 3-step process: due diligence investigations (i.e., public searches, review of minute books and key contracts, etc.); identify any 'skeletons' and consider what options exist to remedy or neutralize them; finally, create and implement a plan to manage these skeletons.
The benign legislative environment for trusts has been disrupted over the last decade or so by significant trust reform. The purpose of this article is to discuss the Uniform Principal and Income Act (the "Act") from the perspective of trust professionals.
B&M Client Alert governing a New Exit Tax and other "onerous provisions" in expatriation tax rules.