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Dynasty trusts are making a big comeback under the 2001 tax law. Before the estate tax was enacted many years ago, dynasty trusts were the standard way to ensure family wealth was preserved and grew through several generations. Now, with the estate tax being phased out more families can emphasize the non-tax goals of estate […]

You don’t need cash to put a sizeable tax deduction on this year’s tax return. If you have some appreciated assets, you have a way to keep the taxman at bay. The best assets to use are your first or second home and securities, such as stocks or mutual funds. Pick the proper strategy and […]

The venerable qtip trust is an even more valuable estate planning tool for married couples after the 2001 tax law. Traditionally, the QTIP could save heirs a bundle of money while ensuring that wealth is distributed as you intended. But the trust can give your estate plan additional flexibility that is a key to dealing […]

Visit any area with a lot of older Americans, and you’ll see plenty of ads for free seminars on Living Trusts by lawyers and financial profes-sionals. Recently, the seminars even sprouted up in my area and seem to be spreading. There aren’t too many lawyers who will go to the trouble of presenting a free […]

What’s the biggest problem with most estate plans? Often it is not taxes or cash flow. Many times the biggest problem is the trustee or executor that was appointed to carry out the estate plan. Trusts usually are a key part of the estate plan. How the trustee administers the trust determines the quality of […]

Too many trusts these days are set up the old-fashioned way. I see them all the time. The result is that all the beneficiaries of the trust are short-changed, and they often end up angry at each other, the trustee, and the grantor. A once-generous endowment eventually becomes a legacy of discontent. Suppose you want […]

Taxpayers can get great income and estate tax benefits from one strategy – without being aggressive. The IRS recently said it would stop fighting a strategy that tax advisors have advocated for years. Even better, as a result of the bull market this tool is ideal for more people. If you’ve been reading Retirement Watch […]

Trusts are hot, and the IRS has declared war on them. It has increased staff and is planning more audits of trusts. But most Retirement Watch readers can relax. Trusts put together by the scam artists are those the IRS is going after. These are trusts that purport to eliminate taxes without changing your use […]
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