Advisor's Journal
Did Portability Kill the Credit Shelter Trust?
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
Many clients may have begun to skimp on estate planning this year because the generous $5 million transfer tax exemption has been made permanently portable between spouses. The
Income-Based Premiums Triple the Cost of Medicare under the ACA
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
For your high net worth and upper middle class clients, Medicare planning has become a critical component of a well-executed retirement income plan.
The Investment Income Tax: Don’t Get Caught in the Passive Activity Trap
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
Your clients may have mastered the more obvious points of the new 3.8% tax on investment income that became effective this year, but with this complicated set of tax rules, what they don’t know can hurt them.
Time Is Running out for Social Security’s File and Suspend—Cash in Now
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
Looming changes to the Social Security system meant to shore up its pending insolvency have created a renewed sense of urgency for maximizing Social Security benefits for high net worth clients.
Multiplying Deductible Familial IRA Contributions
By by Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
With the diverse array of estate planning tools that advisors have in their arsenals today, it might be easy to overlook one relatively simple, tax-advantaged way to pass wealth to the next generation—individual retirement accounts.
Estate Planning Tools in the Administration Budget Proposal’s Crossfire
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
Estate planners should take note that the administration’s budget plan is soon expected to take aim at some of their most effective planning tools.
The Price of Longevity: When Clients Outlive Their Longevity Insurance
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
The IRS has recently allowed using qualified pre-tax dollars to purchase longevity annuity contracts.
Navigating the Maze: Social Security, Spouses, and Survivors
By Robert Bloink, Esq. LLM and Prof. William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
Determining Social Security entitlement is often a more difficult piece of the puzzle than anticipated when it comes to helping clients project anticipated retirement income.
Guaranteed Lifetime Income Variable Annuities: Eliminating the Confusion—and the Price Tag
By Robert Bloink, Esq., LLM and William H. Byrnes, Esq., LLM
Variable annuities with guaranteed lifetime benefits have become increasingly popular among clients planning for retirement income in recent years.
Practice Aids
Buy Sell Agreements
Stock Redemption and Cross Purchase Agreements, Family Attribution, Business Succession Planning... |
Estate Planning
Wills, Trusts, Joint Tenancy, Tenancy in Common, POD accounts, Custodial Accounts, Intestate Succession... |
Business Life Insurance
Key Person Insurance, Executive Bonus, Deferred Compensation, Rabbi Trusts, Secular Trusts, Split-Dollar, ... |
Retirement Planning
IRAs, SEPs, 401(k)s, Qualified Retirement Plans, ESOPs, Rollovers, Life Insurance in Qualified Plans... |
Financial Planning
Disability Income Insurance, Long Term Care Insurance, Health Insurance, 529 Plans, Taxation of Investments... |
Employee Benefits
Group Term Life Insurance, COBRA, Cafeteria Plans, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Account... |
Selected Highlights
Estate shrinkage is closely related to estate liquidity—or lack of liquidity. A certain amount of liquidity is needed to meet estate settlement costs that cause the shrinkage.
Under common law minors cannot own property in their own names. This does not mean that a minor cannot inherit an IRA or be designated as the beneficiary of an IRA; it means that their are special considerations.
Powers of appointment are a valuable tool in estate plans, because they allow for future flexibility in the ultimate disposition of the donors property which is placed in a trust.
For wealthier and more sophisticated investors 529 Plans may not be the best option to financially prepare for college.
A substantial portion of the wealth possessed by Americans today consists of IRAs, 401(k)s and 403(b)s. This article covers all the distribution rules and all aspects of trusts as beneficiaries of tax deferred retirement accounts including sample forms.
Certain high income clients who have not previously made deductible IRA contributions ought consider opening a traditional IRA this year and contributing the largest allowable nondeductible contribution they can manage.
The will approach is based upon one of two major assumptions. At the time of the interview, either the prospect has a will or doesn`t - there`s no middle ground.
Significant tax advantages can be achieved by widows and widowers who are beneficiaries of credit shelter trusts (established upon the deaths of their respective spouses), through the purchase...
Tax Facts
Amounts Not Received as an Annuity, Amounts Received as an Annuity: Fixed Annuities, Annuity Rules: Variable Annuities, Charitable Gift Annuity, Death, Disposition, Divorce, Estate Tax, Gifts and Charitable Gifts, In General, Loss, Private Annuity, Taxation, Withholding
Bond Premium, Corporate Bonds, Inflation-Indexed Bonds, Market Discount, Municipal Bonds, Original Issue Discount, Other Issues Affecting Bonds, Short-Term Taxable Obligations (Maturities One Year or Less), Treasury Bonds and Notes
Accumulated Earnings Tax, Alternative Minimum Tax, Death Proceeds of Business Life Insurance, Estate Tax Issues, Gift Tax Issues, Premiums, S Corporations, Sale or Liquidation of Partnership Interest, Stock Purchase Agreement, Transfer of Policy
Funded Deferred Compensation (Annuities and Trusts), Unfunded Deferred Compensation
New Disclosure Regulations for Retirement Plan Service Providers
Estate Tax, Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax, Gift Tax, Valuation
Corporations And Other Business Entities, General Rules
Abbreviations, About Our Organization, About the Editors
Death Benefits, Group Permanent Insurance, Group Survivor Income Benefit, Group Term Life Insurance, Retired Lives Reserves
Employer-Provided Health Insurance, Health and Medical Savings Accounts, Health Insurance And The Estate Tax, Health Insurance And The Gift Tax, The New Health Care Reform Law
Distributions, Early Distributions, Eligibility, Employer-Sponsored IRAs, Estate Tax Issues, Filing Requirements, In General, Required Minimum Distributions, Simple IRA, Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
Cash Value Increases, Collection of Delinquent Income Taxes from Life Insurance, Creditor Insurance, Death Proceeds, Demutualization, Disability Provisions Under Life Policies, Divorce, Gift Tax Issues, Gifts and Charitable Gifts, Government Life Insurance, Life Insurance Trusts, Life Insurance: Estate Tax Issues, Living Proceeds, Policies Insuring More Than One Life, Premiums, Single Premium Whole Life Insurance Policy, Taxation Of Distribution of Life Insurance Contract, Value of Unmatured Policy
In General, Non-Qualified Long-Term Care Insurance Contract, Premiums, Reporting Requirements, Taxation of Benefits
Insurance & Employee Benefits, Investments
Employer Deduction, Plan Types And Features, Qualification, Qualified Plans And The Estate Tax, Taxation of Distributions
Dividends, Sale or Exchange, Stock Options, Stock Warrants, Worthless Securities
Amounts Received Under the Plan, Changing Issuers, Contract Requirements, Contributions, Distributions, Excise Taxes, Plan Termination, Social Security and Withholding Taxes
