Passing on your business to the next generation by creating management (how your business will be managed if you are gone) and business succession plans (how your business will be owned) will help you get the most value for your business and hopefully, avoid hurting family and business partners. (Read more...)

A Minor’s Trust is one solution! This trust allows you to gift assets for the benefit of a minor child while ensuring that a designated trustee correctly handles the trust until the child is 21.

One advantage of selling to a non-grantor trust is that it allows you to lock in the capital gains at a fixed value while deferring the recognition of the gain until payments are made under the promissory note. This strategy can effectively transfer the appreciation in value to the trust beneficiaries.

LOI (Letters of Intent) generally include non-binding provisions for the proposed structure of the purchase or sale, the due diligence that will be conducted, the representations and warranties (reps & warranties). It also includes binding provisions such as Confidentiality and Non Solicitation agreements as well as an Exclusivity Period.

A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) is a tool used by people who want to reduce estate and gift taxes. There are also Rolling GRATs and Zero'd Out GRATs. A GRAT holds high growth assets that are appreciating in value faster than the Section 7520 rate.

Navigating End-of-Life Decisions

• What a healthcare agent is and why you need one

• How to choose the right person to make medical decisions for you

• The power and responsibilities of a healthcare agent

Empower yourself with knowledge on healthcare proxies and advance directives

An Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT) is a type of grantor trust, which means the grantor pays the income tax earned by the trust. When you hear the term “intentionally defective,” you may think the trust is broken or somehow ineffective. An IDGT is a trust that is “defective” only because it is ignored for income tax purposes. The IDGT is very effective by helping beneficiaries avoid gift and estate taxes.

A dynasty trust is a long-term, irrevocable trust designed to pass on and manage wealth for multiple generations. It allows individuals to transfer assets, such as money, property, investments, or closely-held business interests into a trust for beneficiaries (typically family members) while minimizing estate tax, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes and protecting the assets from creditors and potential squandering.

An IRA (individual retirement account) trust is a special type of trust that can be designated to receive distributions from an IRA to gain asset protections such as spendthrift protection, creditor protection and divorce protection, special needs trust protection and achieve "dead hand control".