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Under their tag as Baby Boomers, the Pre-Retirees have always been different. In the insurance sphere, that difference shows itself as a change in perspective that entails new requirements. Whether to downsize and how, what legacy to leave, and similar questions that call for more than advantageous sales. To provide the added-value advice and servi...

If you pre-order from Starbucks, buy a paper on the corner using Apple Pay, or use the free wifi at the gym to pay your bills online, before lunch you’ve shared multiple pieces of information that could potentially be accessed by cyber criminals. Security experts continue to familiarize themselves with the latest cyber-exposures, but so do cr...

Imagine trying to protect a multi-generational family with 15 households and 25 properties in multiple states—not to mention all their vehicles, collections and personal property. Then there’s liability exposure for dozens of individuals, each with their own unique set of risks. Providing insurance protection for this level of exposure is challengi...

From a tax perspective, 2016 was a relatively calm year. But this relative calm shouldn't create complacency. Instead, it creates two significant opportunities for year-end planning. First, you can redirect the time and energy spent understanding new laws in years past toward a holistic look at your tax situation and plans for the future; you m...

The new revenue recognition standard—set to go into effect in 2018 for public entities and 2019 for nonpublic entities—has been and continues to be a hot topic during our conversations with clients. Unlike most other accounting changes, the new standard will influence organizations not just at the financial-statement level, but also at ...

Today’s PFTCs bear little resemblance to ‘private trust companies’ of the 1990s, the gestation era for the PFTC. The modern US PFTC also differs markedly from a third form of ‘private trust company’: its ‘offshore’ single family private trust company (OFTC). Limited federal taxation of foreign trusts and pr...

Most family offices that serve U.S. families are well aware that special planning considerations can arise when a U.S. citizen family member marries a noncitizen. Should the client’s estate plan be revised to incorporate a qualified domestic trust (QDOT) to ensure that assets passing to the surviving noncitizen spouse qualify for federal esta...

Finding your voice as an adult is a difficult process for everyone, but can be especially challenging when you grow up in a family of wealth. Perhaps you already control some or all of your inheritance or maybe you soon will. Learning the rules of the road can make you more comfortable, confident, and independent as you choose your destination, pla...

In early April 2016 files leaked from a large Panama-based law firm (known as the ‘Panama Papers’) brought to the attention of many the ways in which offshore companies and structures can be used to obscure the identity of beneficial owners, some of whom have used such entities to avoid paying tax in their country of tax residence. Now ...

Even though a trust may be established under the laws of a US state and have a US trust company serving as trustee (hereinafter a ‘US-based trust’), this does not mean that it is a US domestic trust for income tax purposes. If non-US persons make substantial decisions for the trust, the US-based trust will be classified as a foreign tru...

Private trust companies are not a new phenomenon. Rather, over the past 25 years, they have increased dramatically in number, with hundreds of major, family-controlled trust institutions now operating in the United States. This article addresses why the number of private trust companies has been growing; describes a typical private trust comp...

The past 20 years’ exceptional wealth creation will soon be followed by the biggest-ever wealth transfer. It is estimated that fewer than 500 people will hand over USD 2.1 trillion to their heirs over the next 20 years. For most Asian economies, where over 85 percent of billionaires are first generation, this will be the first-ever handover o...

As with many of your possessions, the value of jewelry is not simply monetary. Individual pieces often hold significant sentimental value: a tennis bracelet gifted to mark the birth of a child or an heirloom brooch passed down from a grandmother, for example. These are irreplaceable, so taking the proper steps to secure and protect them is critical...

Individuals and families that manage their wealth wisely tend to take an active role in doing so. Rather than leave everything in the hands of an advisory team, they make sure they’re knowledgeable about the key factors affecting their wealth. This entails understanding various legal, financial, and regulatory issues, as well as the economic ...

What if Trump trumps Clinton in the U.S. Election? With just a few weeks remaining, the markets have not meaningfully priced in the chance of a Trump presidency. While indeed this is not the base case scenario, the outcome of the election is sufficiently unclear that serious consideration should be given to the potential impact of a Trump victory o...