When selling a business, owners often focus on closing the deal. An additional focus on personal wealth planning opportunities could result in significant savings on income, gift, and estate taxes. This planning checklist outlines the key factors to consider.
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 ...
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...
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...
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.
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 wi...
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 leve...
Attracting and retaining talent was a significant problem for many organizations before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it continues to be a major issue across most industries. While the pandemic complicated matters, business leaders should look at the talent challenge as an opportunity to reposition itself and take the necessary steps—including l...
Diving deep into the metrics from more than 1,270 data security incidents, this one-of-a-kind report features actionable insights and checklists to help companies improve their data security measures and operational resilience. Key findings reveal ransomware remains front and center; companies are becoming more resilient after making investments in...
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.
While China has denied engaging in espionage efforts as outlined in the joint warning from the U.S. and British law enforcement agencies, it is crucial for businesses to defend against the threat and the cybersecurity attacks that can come at any time from any nation state threat actors. Businesses of all kinds should consider immediate a...
Transformation is not a new idea in the world of family businesses, but it has taken on a new meaning in the post-pandemic environment that has challenged the old way of thinking. Recognizing the need to transform, family businesses are keeping their minds open and turning emerging trends into the drivers of their future growth and success.
Social responsibility is not new to family businesses. However, issues related to sustainability, climate risk, poverty, and uncertainty in many parts of the world are rising in importance. Leaders are turning their attention to ‘people, planet, and profit’ goals to generate value for the environment, create jobs, contribute to communit...
For families with significant wealth, a new IRS Revenue Procedure could result in millions of dollars in tax savings. The procedure makes the Deceased Spouse Unused Exclusion available up to five years after the death of the first spouse of a married couple.
Losing a loved one can be very difficult. Yet, as an executor, spouse, or family member, you need to take steps to ensure that your loved one's financial affairs are properly settled as part of the family’s end-of-life planning. To help with the process, this step-by-step guide outlines the key tasks, including selecting an executor, considering th...