Avoiding Litigation with Dynasty Estate Planning

The only thing worse than a death in the family… Brother suing brother or sister or mother is the most destructive and awful tragedy that can strike a family. A family can recover from terminal illness, substance abuse and infighting, but there is no coming back from family litigation. How to Avoid Litigation within the…

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Revenue Ruling 2023-2

Equity Strip

Revenue Ruling 2023-2 is Nothing New The IRS ruled in Revenue Ruling 2023-2 that assets in an irrevocable trust outside the taxable estate of the grantor, do NOT get a step up in cost basis when the grantor dies. Although this ruling has received some attention and disagreement in the media, it is nothing new…

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Do It Yourself Probate

Do It Yourself Probate

Why the Cost? A frequently asked question is “why does probate cost so much?”  This is followed up with how tough is a “Do It Yourself Probate?” The short answer to both these questions is:  probate is complicated.  It takes time and there are strict rules that must be complied with.  Sometimes, in very simple…

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Abusive Trusts

Abusive Trusts – Danger Signs Because we put together a lot of Trusts, people bring us their Trusts ideas.  This is actually a wonderful resource which we welcome.  At the same time, some of the ideas that are brought to us are simply bad and even dangerous.  Although these are sometimes characterized as abusive trusts,…

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