You may have heard of Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATS) lately, especially if you have been thinking about using your federal estate and gift tax exemption before the current higher exemption amount of $13.61 million is automatically reduced to about $7 million on January 1, 2026, assuming Congress takes no action. (See my column from last

What Happened

Come on, you know what happened, right?

For those denied the joy of Roald Dahl and his take on bad parents, here is an overview.

Willy Wonka, the owner of Wonka’s Chocolates, is a unique and secretive chocolatier. Wonka’s Chocolates has one factory. Unlike other factories, no workers or visitors are seen entering

On Dec. 29, 2023, the Office of the Chief Counsel (the Chief Counsel) of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Chief Counsel Advice Memorandum 202352018 (the CCAM).

Although some have commented on the CCAM’s impact on trust modifications, a further question is what impact, if any, will the CCAM have on trust decantings in New

When we think about making plans to secure our future, generally the discussions revolve around education, career, family, and finances. Creating a comprehensive estate plan, including effective advanced directives, can elude even the most organized and diligent people. A survey by Caring.com noted that 1 in 5 people who died during the 2020 pandemic did

The current combined federal estate and gift tax exemption amount of $13.61 million per person ($27.22 million per married couple) is scheduled to “sunset” automatically on January 1, 2026, and revert to $5 million indexed for inflation (guesstimated at $7 million), unless Congress takes action. This exemption amount applies to the total taxable gifts made

Many of us would like our children to inherit our home once we are gone. More than a few of us think it makes sense to give our home to our children while we are still living. That is not a good idea! Here’s why.

Loss of Step-Up in Basis

Gifting your home to someone

As of November 2023, having a valid Health Care Proxy became easier for New Yorkers. A Health Care Proxy allows a competent adult to appoint an agent to make health care choices for them if they lose the ability to make those decisions for themselves. Two adults who are not appointed in the document must

The federal estate and gift tax exemption (the combined amount you can give away to beneficiaries other than your spouse or charities during life and at death without paying gift or estate tax) is increasing to $13.61 million per person as of January 1, 2024, up from $12.92 million in 2023. This is an increase

If you are at least 70 ½ years old and have a traditional IRA, you can give up to $100,000 from your IRA account directly to charity. This direct transfer, called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), avoids having to  recognize the assets transferred to the charity in your gross income on your tax return.

Direct

Did you know that actions can be taken after you die (i.e., post-mortem) to achieve the best results possible for your testamentary plan? Some estate plans are intentionally structured to give your beneficiaries and your executor/trustee the ability to make educated post-mortem planning decisions after your death.

For instance, bequests can be altered through post-mortem