The Court of Appeals' recent decision in the Robert Gaines-Cooper case does not represent a change in UK residency law, Withers Worldwide notes. Instead, the decision reinforces what has always been good advice for those seeking to lose UK residency: Make a complete break with the UK and keep visits to a bare minimum.
B&M Client Alert governing a New Exit Tax and other "onerous provisions" in expatriation tax rules.
This article addresses the complex U.S. tax rules governing cross-border grant-making by private foundations.
A discussion of pre-nuptial, post-nuptial or cohabitation agreements.
In today's world, domestic asset protection trusts can be a useful planning tool. However, under certain circumstances can be subject to intense scrutiny. Holland+Knight defines and outlines the case for domestic asset protection trusts.
This article highlights the fact that most wealthy U.S. families customarily choose individuals rather than trust companies to serve as trustee, even for complex trusts holding very substantial assets and even though a family who can afford it now has the option of creating its own trust. The article also argues that reliance on individual...
This article deals with the legal status of prenuptial agreements under English law.
This paper explores the tax-management strategy of realizing long-term capital gains in a portfolio of equities and quantify how much it can add to after-tax performance. This approach is counter to the more common strategy of deferring the realization of capital gains as long as possible while only realizing capital losses. It also evaluates the a...
Undivided fractional interests in real estate held as tenants-in-common (TIC) may be exchanged for likekind property under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. The availability of Section 1031 taxdeferred treatment for transfer of TIC ownership interests presents today's investors with expanded investment opportunities but comes with new type...
Investors are well advised to take into account the interest rate environment when considering wealth transfer options. Interest rates are important when establishing trusts, reviewing existing estate plans, and lending money to family members. With interest rates declining, the current rates used to value wealth transfers are now near historic lo...
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.
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 l...
The three taxpayers involved in the Gaines-Cooper case lost before the Court of Appeals because evaluating an individual's status of residence involves difficult questions of fact and judgment, and the taxpayers could not show that the Revenue and Customs Commission had applied guidance incorrectly. In this review of the decision, Deloitte recommen...
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...
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.