Swap Power and the Step-Up in Basis: Do You Need One If Your Assets Never Left Your Estate?
A CPA who advises ultra-high-net-worth families left a sharp question on one of my posts last week. I had written…
Your Bridge Trust® Has Dynasty Provisions. That Does Not Mean You Have a Dynasty Plan.
Your Bridge Trust Has Dynasty Provisions — But Not a Dynasty Plan. The 365-year term and continuing beneficiary provisions are in your document. They are dormant authority, not protection. Here is what still has to happen.
SLATs vs. Dynasty Bridge Trust®: Why Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts Often Fail
SLATs vs. Dynasty Bridge Trust™: Why Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts Fail. SLATs forfeit the step-up, lock in valuation, provide no creditor protection, and risk reciprocal trust doctrine collapse. What the alternative solves.
Dynasty Trust Step-Up in Basis: The Tax Benefit Traditional Planning Forfeits
Dynasty Trust Step-Up in Basis: Why Estate Inclusion Is the Whole Test. Rev. Rul. 2023-2 denied the step-up to irrevocable grantor trusts outside the estate. The test is estate inclusion — and what puts assets there is the absence of a completed gift.
Locked In or Optional: How $10M–$30M Families Should Evaluate Trust Proposals
Locked In or Optional: Evaluating Trust Proposals After the OBBBA. A paired-trust proposal forces four irrevocable decisions on day one. With the sunset gone, here's how to tell which ones your family actually needs to make now.
The OBBBA Didn’t Solve Your Estate Problem. Here’s What It Missed.
The OBBBA Didn't Fix the GST Portability Gap. The exemption is permanent at $30M for couples. But GST exemption is not portable, and it disappears at the first death. What that costs a $12M couple who waits.
Is a Dynasty Trust Right for Me?
You've read what a dynasty trust is. The harder question is whether you should have one. The objections your CPA and estate attorney will raise, answered.
THREE PROBLEMS. ONE STRUCTURE. MOST ADVISORS ARE ONLY SOLVING ONE.
Your client has a plan for what happens when they die. They may not have a plan for what happens when they get sued while they’re still alive — or what happens to the $89 million that gets extracted from their estate across the next two generations. This article is written for the insurance producer who already sits across from that client.
Massachusetts Families With $10M+ Are Being Taxed at Both Ends
Massachusetts: 9% Surtax on Accumulation, 16% Estate Tax From $2M. De Prins confirmed self-settled trusts don't protect Massachusetts residents. The estate tax starts at $2M with no portability. The surtax hits on the way in.
Oregon Family Trusts and the $1 Million Estate Tax Problem: What Portland Families With $10M+ Are Missing
Oregon Family Trust & Estate Tax: The $1M Exemption Problem. Oregon's estate tax exemption is $1 million — the lowest in the country. A $4M Portland estate already owes state tax. What a family trust does and doesn't solve.