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Low interest rates are certainly disheartening for investors looking for income, but they also drive down key rates used in estate planning – a great benefit to those looking for low or no tax techniques for transferring wealth to family members. It is unlikely, however, that these rates will remain as low as they currently are.

Taxes may always be with us, but not necessarily in the same way depending on where we live. Deutsche Bank takes a global look at income tax, comparing tax scales, types of deductions and tax systems from one country to another.

Recent tax court cases have shown the ongoing administration of family limited partnerships is as important as making sure the transaction was properly structured at the outset. Withers Bergman says the family office is a natural fit for ensuring such administration because of its day-to-day involvement with family members and their holdings.

A new paper from Withers examines a privy council decision upholding, in large part, a post-nuptial agreement made by a wealthy couple. Given the landmark decision in MacLeod v MacLeod, the authors say, some couples may want to clarify the financial arrangements between them by entering into a post-nuptial agreement.

A client alert from Baker & McKenzie offers insight into HMRC's draft guidance setting out the agency's view on the application of the new trustee residency rules to non-UK resident corporate trustees.

There are significant changes in the taxation of non-UK domiciled individuals. This question-and-answer document from KPMG LLP provides a quick overview of these changes as well as the impact on those affected.

All offshore trust companies with any UK nexus should consider their UK exposure and the position of their trusteeships given the extremely detrimental tax effects that can arise through a determination of UK fiscal residency. The guidance also is very relevant, Withers says, in the context of private trust companies with UK resident directors.

If they are to weather future market changes, trusts need to be revised or developed using more candid projections of economic conditions. A report from U.S. Trust offers suggestions to improve the effectiveness of trusts, such as assessing portfolio potential more frequently, including probable tax increases in projections and setting distribution...

The Internal Revenue Service has increased its scrutiny of multinational corporations and ultra-wealthy investors who try to minimize their taxes inappropriately through foreign investments. PricewaterhouseCoopers offers a checklist that U.S. investors can use to make sure they comply with international tax-reporting requirements.

The new administration has turned 2009 into a year of changes in state, gift and income tax laws – and more changes are expected before the year ends. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) provides an update on the extension of the IRA charitable rollover as well as changes to the gift tax annual exclusion, the generation-skipping transfer tax, and family...

Changes in tax law on estates and gifts provide lower valuations, which makes this a good time to focus on estate planning. An advisory from Rothstein Kass offers suggestions on beginning the process as well as pointers on taking advantage of current and proposed tax laws so that families can transfer as large an estate as possible to future genera...

There are many resources and games available for teaching children about different aspects of managing money, investing, and philanthropy. Starting financial literacy education with children and teens will be more successful when you make the activity fun, connected to their life stage and related to current interests. This includes gamifying learn...

We often think of Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday as ushering in the year-end charitable giving season. Year end is not only a time for gratitude, as families gather for the holidays, but also a time to start organizing financially for the close of the calendar year. But year-end giving does not need to be short-term giving. So even as you strive t...

There has been so much attention this fall on the presidential election that the end of the year has rapidly come upon us. Regardless of the outcome of the election, neither candidate will be able to change the current tax law this year, so most of the usual year-end tax planning strategies remain the same. However, one recent development has cause...

With Republicans controlling both houses of Congress and the White House, there are three things to know about heading into 2017: (1) expect tax reform to be a high priority; (2) individual tax reform will focus on lower rates but expect to lost some deductions and credits; and (3) business tax reform will focus on rates, depreciation and internati...