2012 Estate Planning

Jonathan Blattmachr, Martin Inc. Shenkman

Description

2012 may be the most important year in history for tax planning. More wealth may be transferred in the waning months of 2012 than any other year. What can and should you do to take advantage of the potentially astounding planning opportunities that are available? What are the risks associated with this planning and how can you minimize those risks? With much of the planning so complicated how can you make decisions as to which of various alternatives are best fore you?

Three of the nation's leading tax experts have addressed all these critical issues and so much more in this timely and authoritative book. This book is written to be accessible to sophisticated taxpayers who can personally benefit from this planning. But because of the broad coverage of even esoteric topics, some discussions are a bit tough.

This book will also prove an invaluable resource for CPAs, financial planners, insurance consultants, and attorneys. The supplemental appendices for professional advisers with practical forms, sample legal provisions, and client letters practitioners can use will all prove a useful resource making this book a must read for professionals.

Sujets

• Droit public
• Law
• Droit et juridique
• Estates
• Trusts

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781456610401
• Langue: English

Extrait

2012
ESTATE
PLANNING
TAX PLANNING STEPS
TO TAKE NOW
 
Martin M. Shenkman, Esq.
Jonathan Blattmachr, Esq.
Robert S. Keebler, CPA
Foreword by Sidney Kess, CPA
 

 


To Our Wives,
Patti, Betsy, and Bonnie
 
© Copyright © 2012 Martin M. Shenkman, Jonathan Blattmachr, and Robert S. Keebler.
 
All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright. No part of it may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Law Made Easy Press
www.laweasy.com
4 Forest Avenue
Paramus, New Jersey 07652
 
 
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
http://www.eBookIt.com
 
 
ISBN-13: 9781456610401
 
Disclaimers: The discussion of any income, gift or estate tax or planning alternatives and other observations herein are not intended as legal or tax advice and do not take into account the particular estate planning objectives, financial situation or needs of individual clients. This summary is based upon information obtained from various sources that the authors believe to be reliable, but the authors make no representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy or completeness of such information. Views expressed herein are current opinions only as of the date indicated, and are subject to change without notice. Forecasts may not be realized due to a variety of factors, including changes in law, regulation, interest rates, and inflation.
Neither the publisher nor authors provide through this book any legal, tax, or other professional advice. Readers are cautioned not to take any action in reliance on the materials presented in this book without first consulting their own professional advisers. Tax situations vary significantly from individual to individual. Tax and other laws change frequently, and there are significant differences in state laws, so professional guidance is essential to implement any of the planning ideas in this book.
 
Cover design by LandMarcDesign.com
Layout by LandMarcDesign.com
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A number of people were instrumental in turning around a book in an incredibly short time, less than two months from the initial idea to publication on Amazon as an e-book.
Most importantly I want to thank my co-authors Jonathan Blattmachr and Robert S. Keebler for such quick turn around of materials and insightful comments and planning ideas.
Andrew Wolfe, Esq. of Hartman and Winnicki, Paramus, New Jersey, proofread the entire manuscript, saving us from numerous errors caused by the incredibly tight time constraints.
Nancy Land, Publications Development Company of Crockett, Texas, did an amazing job of producing and publishing a book in record time.
Amber Gatewood of Printing For Less of Livingston, Montana, produced the postcard made available to readers in the Appendix and on the website and for offering a discount and webpage exclusively to readers of our book.
Any mistakes, typographical or other errors are my own.
—Marty Shenkman
Paramus, New Jersey
September 16, 2012
 
FOREWORD
By Sidney Kess
2012 may be the most important year in history for tax planning. More wealth may be transferred in the waning months of 2012 than any other year. Why is planning now so vitally important? What can and should you do to take advantage of the potentially astounding planning opportunities that are available? What are the risks associated with this planning and how can you minimize those risks? With much of the planning so complicated how can you make decisions as to which of various alternatives are best fore you?
You are left to wonder no more... three of the nation’s leading tax experts have addressed all these critical issues and so much more in this timely and authoritative book. This book is written to be accessible to sophisticated taxpayers who can personally benefit from this planning. But because of the broad coverage of even esoteric topics, some discussions are a bit tough.
This book will also prove an invaluable resource for CPAs, financial planners, insurance consultants, and attorneys. The supplemental appendices for professional advisers with practical forms, sample legal provisions, and client letters practitioners can use will all prove a useful resource making this book a must read for professionals.
Blattmachr, Shenkman, and Keebler are nationally known educators as well as technicians. Their skills as educators are evident in this book. This book will educate you about the practical information you need to act quickly to take advantage of what might prove to be fleeting planning opportunities. Anyone considering planning in 2012 (and that should be anyone and everyone of means), and their advisers, should read this book and study its advice.
The book addresses and explains not only a plethora of estate, asset protection, legal and tax planning concepts, but tells you how you can apply these concepts in the unique circumstances of planning right now in 2012:
• Gifts
• Dynasty trusts
• Self-settled or domestic asset protection trusts (DAPTs)
• Note sale transactions to intentionally defective irrevocable trusts (IDITs)
• Private annuities
• Self-cancelling installment notes (SCINs)
• Applicable federal rates (AFRs) and how they affect loan and sale transactions
• Family limited partnerships (FLPs)
• Limited liability companies (LLCs)
• S corporations
• Charitable trusts
• Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs)
• IRAs and other retirement plans
• Harvesting gains and losses
• The inter-relationship of income and estate taxes
• Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)
• And much more
Most importantly, reading this book will give you the advice of three estate planning experts as to how you should plan now, avoid major planning pitfalls, and minimize the risks associated with 2012 planning. The result of this will be better protection and tax savings for you and your loved ones. You will learn about many of the techniques that America’s wealthiest families use in their planning. And the authors know, because America’s wealthiest families seek them out for advice.
On a personal note, I’ve worked for many years, even decades with each of these authors and I am thrilled to see them pool their talents to make a book for sophisticated consumers and professional advisers alike at this crucial time.
I’ve been privileged to work in the fields of accounting and tax law for 50 years and have taught more than 750,000 people over that time. My overarching goal over all these years has been to help others navigate through the complexities inherent in the financial world while they try to build a comfortable future for themselves and their families. I am proud to write the Foreword to a book that is so consistent with my own personal mission.
I encourage you to take advantage of the knowledge and planning ideas provided by this timely book. A wealth of information is at your fingertips.
Do bear in mind, as the authors point out many times, state laws differ, everyone’s circumstances differ, and cutting edge planning always has risks. So plan and benefit but do so with professional guidance.
Sidney Kess , CPA, JD, LL.M., AEP ® (Distinguished) is of counsel at Kostelanetz & Fink, LLP, New York, NY, and was recently selected Most Influential Practitioner by CPA Magazine . He is a nationally renowned tax expert and author/coauthor of hundreds of tax books on financial and estate planning. Having lectured to more than 750,000 practitioners on tax, financial, and estate planning, he is one of the nation’s best known lecturers in continuing professional education.
In 2011, Mr. Kess received AICPA’s Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service that is given to individuals who have made a major contribution to the CPA profession and is the highest award granted to a CPA by the Institute.
 
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION TO 2012 PLANNING
This may be one of the most important estate and tax planning years in history. For instance, 2012 may prove to be the best and last great wealth-transfer planning opportunity for high net worth individuals. It may also be the best year to recognize income including dividends and long-term capital gains. Then again, it might not! The real issue is deciding what can and should be done with respect to estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax planning in the waning days of 2012. (In very simplistic terms, the GST tax is a separate wealth transfer tax, similar to a gift or estate tax, on transfers to “skip persons,” such as grandchildren.) For many taxpayers, the cost, complexity, and hassle of significant 2012 planning is relatively insignificant in comparison to the tremendous benefits that might be achieved. But a large number of taxpayers are simply not jumping on this opportunity. Never before has so much wealth been considered for transfer in such a short period of time. The goals of this book include:
• Helping to educate you on what planning options are available, and why you should consider moving quickly to address these options.
• Discussing what arrangements, traps, and special considerations affect 2012 planning.
• Explaining the unique issues created by the necessary compression of the planning sequence and how you can effectively plan within such a short timeframe.
This book is being written for both taxpayers and their advisers. While advisers may hunger for more citations and technical jargon, and taxpayers may struggle to understand some of the more technical discussions, the time compression of 2012 planning necessitates this approach. Taxpayers and their advisers will have to work together in an efficient and cohesive manner to complete planning steps in time. Thus, everyone has to be on the same page—hence one book. It is hoped that this unique approach will make 2012 planning a successful endeavor for