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FOX’s annual estate planning webcast will lead participants through a thoughtful discussion of some of the most important topics and developments that were addressed at the 57th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning. Key legislative, regulatory, and case law updates impacting ultra-high net worth families and their family offices will be c...

The passing of a family member is always stressful and challenging. The family office plays a critical role in helping the family through the process, often coordinating everything from the smallest funeral details to the preparation of the IRS Form 706. During this webinar, Mandy Chardoul and Jessica Wiltjer will discuss the benefits of pre-planni...

40% of families now gift their assets through trusts compared to 12.5% in 1995. Directed trusts, special purpose entities, trust protector companies, and regulated and unregulated private trust companies have all played integral roles in the growing popularity of trusts. This session focused on the important reasons families are choosing these popu...

The ultra-wealth business continues to perform well, but not without some growing pains. While advisors to families of wealth benefited from a strong rebound in the markets during 2020, for some firms costs are rising faster than revenue. Now that we are in the midst of a receding pandemic, what does this look back on 2020 tell us about how prepare...

21st century wealth owners and their financial advisors often seek to design trusts that are flexible enough to withstand personal and financial changes yet manage the investment's outcome. Trusts serve the useful purpose of retaining control of funds pending certain events, after which funds may, can or must be transferred to or on behalf of the b...

Private trust companies; profits interest structures; direct investments. The world of family wealth management is getting more complex all the time. As families and their office management teams evolve and learn best practices, there is a natural tendency to add more complexity to their structure and operations. Recently, we’ve seen this movement ...

As we learn to cope with the unprecedented changes to our daily lives imposed by the COVID-19 crisis, many are rethinking about the steps to take to confirm that their affairs are in order. Now is the time to perform an estate plan wellness check-up and learn about the opportunities to implement planning techniques geared toward economic downturns.

In this Part Four of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act), we take a look at the use of qualified charitable distributions (OCDs) that impacts estate planning. For the full planning series, see also Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

While today’s health, economic, and market concerns have created a challenging environment, there is a silver lining for wealth and estate planning opportunities. Compelling opportunities include gifting assets with depreciated value; using the low interest rate environment to your advantage through vehicles such as grantor retained annu...

On March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") was signed into law. The CARES Act provides emergency assistance to individuals, families, and businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act is divided into two divisions: Division A includes programs to benefit individuals, companies, an...

After the death of a retirement plan participant or IRA owner, non-eligible designated beneficiaries of a retirement account (other than a Roth) will experience an acceleration of taxable income and the loss of tax-deferred growth that was available before the enacted SECURE Act (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement). This is the t...

The IRS recently released the April 2020 interest rates used for estate planning purposes. As expected based on recent market conditions, these rates are at or near all-time lows. These low rates, combined with potentially-depressed asset prices and temporarily-high estate and gift tax exemptions (currently over $23 million for a married coupl...

By leveraging the power of your investment portfolio through securities-based lending, you can free up available cash by using a portion of your eligible portfolio holdings as collateral. While there are potential risks in borrowing against your portfolio, they can be managed for a host of needs, ranging from asset purchases to wealth planning...

The SECURE Act contains many changes for individuals with retirement plans as well as small businesses with retirement plans. Changes include distribution provisions of an inherited IRA, planning with trusts, a later start for required minimum distributions, and incentives for small business owners and employees. There are also other non-retirement...

In periods of elevated volatility such as the fourth quarter of 2018—when we saw the largest quarterly decline in the U.S. market, as measured by the S&P 500, since the third quarter of 2011—investors have many opportunities to harvest losses. Preserving tax benefits by avoiding wash-sale violations becomes even more important durin...