Resource Search

Serving as a trustee for your family can be a valuable experience for you, while also providing an important service to your family. But before you accept the position, make sure that you understand the role you will play for the family and are willing to accept the responsibilities and liability that come with it.

In this ten minute interview, Brian Lucareli and Tim Voigtman of Foley & Lardner discuss developments regarding the entity-level taxation. Insights are provided on the impact of the SALT limitation, as a number of U.S. states have adopted legislation that allow flow-through entities to elect to pay state income taxes as an entity level tax.

With an array of charitable giving options, it's important to understand how each gift could affect your annual deductions. Here's a quick guide to tax deductions, out-of-pocket deductions, and required substantiation. For the individuals and families looking to go beyond the standard donation, there are a few alternate options with their own tax considerations.

Unlike trustees, who have very specific fiduciary duties spelled out for them in our trust laws, beneficiaries don’t have much guidance to help them in the role of beneficiary. Our answers to these frequently asked questions should help provide guidance on how to be a good beneficiary and your rights as a beneficiary under Michigan law.

When it comes to selecting trustees, families often choose family members to serve in this role. However, if you agree to serve as a trustee, you become a “fiduciary” who must understand all of your fiduciary duties and perform them all. This is vital because even if you do not understand your duties, you can still be held liable for violating them.

To effectively serve as a trustee, it's crucial to understand your fiduciary duties. Even trustees with the best of intentions can create liability for themselves by being unprepared for the job or by not fully understanding their obligations. Learn more about some of the common mistakes family trustees make that can lead to lawsuits and other costly consequences.

Establishing residency in a state with lower tax rates can result in significant tax savings for some individuals and trusts. But changing residency is not as straightforward as it might seem. Additionally, states have become aggressive in challenging residency changes to avoid losing out on tax revenue. This paper reviews the residency rules for individuals, identifies steps to establish new residency, and addresses residency audits. It also provides an overview of the residency rules for trusts.

The New Inflation Reduction Act (the "IRA") was passed with a simple majority vote in the U.S. The IRA would raise approximately $450 billion to pay for deficit reduction, clean energy, and climate investments.

Many parents enjoy witnessing the positive effect a significant gift can have on their children's lives. For example, asset transfer can help children buy a home, raise a family, or start a business. With meaningful benefits to transferring assets during a lifetime from a gift and estate tax perspective, intergenerational planning can be a win-win for those giving and those receiving. Your family's unique goals will determine which annual exclusion gifts strategy is best for you.

To develop an effective succession plan for your personal collections and tangible assets—including art, fine jewelry, wine, and antiques—you must understand their monetary value. In this ten minute interview, Natalie Annis and Brian Lucareli discuss estate planning for personal collections and the additional tax considerations that apply to the transfer of tangibles, whether during one's lifetime or at death.