The Estate Planner – January/February 2017

Dec 29, 2016

Happy New Year!  We wish you and your loved ones a wonderful 2017.

Here is what you will find in the January/February 2017 issue of The Estate Planner.
 
IRS targeting FLPs: Proposed regs endanger valuation discounts for family-controlled entities
In August 2016, the IRS released its long-anticipated proposed regulations limiting the ability of family limited partnerships and other family-controlled entities to take advantage of valuation discounts. If the regulations are finalized as proposed, they’ll make it difficult, if not impossible, for these entities to use certain lapsing rights and liquidation restrictions to “devalue” interests for gift and estate tax purposes. This article details the proposed regs. A sidebar offers alternative estate planning strategies.
 
Is a noncharitable purpose trust right for you?
There are two trust types that don’t require one or more human beneficiaries: charitable trusts and noncharitable purpose (NCP) trusts. A charitable trust is the more common of the two, but an NCP trust could also be a formidable tool to help achieve one’s estate planning goals. This article explains how an NCP trust works and details its drawbacks.
 
3 reasons you should continue making lifetime gifts
Now that the gift and estate tax exemption has reached $5.49 million (for 2017), it may seem that gifting assets to loved ones is less important than it was in previous years. However, lifetime gifts continue to provide significant benefits, whether an estate is taxable or not. This article details three reasons why making lifetime gifts continues to make sense.
 
Estate Planning Red Flag: Your trust owns S corporation stock
S corporations must comply with several strict requirements or risk losing their tax-advantaged status. In an estate planning context, it’s critical that any trusts that own S corporation stock — or receive such stock through operation of an estate plan — be eligible shareholders. This brief article details four trust types that are eligible to be S corporation shareholders.