When clients wait too long to plan, they can find themselves scrambling to pay unexpected bills.
Advertisement
TOPICS / PERSONAL FINANCIAL PLANNING
Estate planning
Estate basis consistency and reporting: What practitioners need to know
The new law imposes a potentially elaborate reporting regime for values of estate property and ominous consequences for failures.
3 steps clients with kids in college need to take
It’s important clients have a plan in place in the unlikely event that they will need to make medical or financial decisions on behalf of their college-student children.
What to do when a client wants to give an LLC or limited partnership unit to charity
Many charitable organizations will not accept a gift of an LLC or limited partnership units because the entity’s business is not part of their charitable mission.
Don’t let your clients miss out on the IRD deduction
Many practitioners still have some questions about when and how the IRD deduction is used.
Don’t let clients overlook these key estate planning issues
This column can help clients visualize the consequences of not having an up-to-date plan.
Charitable bailouts can save your C corporation clients big on taxes
This technique can help the donor achieve his or her charitable objectives, avoid capital gains tax, and distribute excess cash that has been accumulated in the corporation tax-free.
Emotional harm of elder financial abuse outweighs its financial damage
More than one-third (37%) of CPA financial planners said that elder financial abuse caused “substantial” emotional harm to clients, according to the new AICPA PFP Trends Survey.
Other people’s money
Seemingly disparate services such as investment advisory, bill-paying, and estate planning all have a common denominator: the CPA’s involvement with other people’s money.
Charitable trusts and the streamlined exempt-status application
It is not unusual for a tax adviser to suggest that a client involved in estate tax planning leave some assets to a charity.
Boilerplate trust clauses
Many clients sign estate planning documents without paying much attention to the clauses they contain. One clause that few clients pay attention to is the one governing how that client’s incapacity could be determined—and therefore how the client could be removed from serving as a fiduciary or trustee. A high-profile
Avoiding the squeeze: Trusts, estates, and the new ATRA tax regime
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 raised the top income tax rate to 39.6%, and a new 3.8% tax on net investment income also applies beginning in 2013. Both taxes apply to trusts and estates with income in excess of $11,950 in 2013, in contrast to much higher thresholds for individuals. This new tax regime necessitates drafting wills and trusts to give executors and trustees maximum discretion so they can reduce these taxes.
Immediate year-end planning opportunity for existing CRTs
On Dec. 2, the Treasury Department issued final regulations addressing the 3.8% net investment income tax under Sec. 1411 (T.D. 9644). Regs. Sec. 1.1411-3 addresses estates and trusts, including charitable remainder trusts (CRTs). The final regulations include an additional accounting method to tax CRT distributions. Distributions of income from a
New portability rules: A cure for incomplete estate planning
Many CPAs are involved in representing estates of decedents who died in 2011 and 2012. In dealing with such estates, it is important to focus on the new Code provisions allowing portability of the decedent’s unused lifetime gift and estate exclusion amount to the surviving spouse. A failure to do
The 10 most powerful postmortem planning pointers for trusts and estates
After a client passes away, there is much more to do than just prepare a final Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return. Taking control of the postmortem planning process can be a powerful way to save tax dollars for the decedent’s estate and family. Postmortem planning also applies to
Estate Planning Action Steps
CPAs should play a more significant role than they often do in facilitating, implementing and monitoring client estate plans. National Estate Planning Awareness Week, Oct. 17–23, is an ideal time to encourage clients to address planning. To download a sample client letter on estate planning, click here. Here are
A Sea Change for Gift and Estate Planning
Martin Shenkman, Esq., CPA/PFS, is the author of numerous books and articles on tax and financial planning, including the AICPA-published Estate and Related Planning During Economic Turmoil, and with Steve R. Akers, Estate Planning After the Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2010: Tools, Tips, and Tactics. His firm,
Estate Tax or Carryover Basis?
For decedents dying in 2010, Congress provided two systems of taxing estates and determining basis of their assets. Executors of those estates must determine the better course. To do so, especially for valuations of gross estates above the new $5 million exclusion, they must take many factors and considerations into
IRS Delays Due Date for Choosing Basis Allocation for Decedents Dying in 2010
The IRS announced that it is delaying the due date for Form 8939, Allocation of Increase in Basis for Property Acquired From a Decedent, past its original April 18 due date, but did not announce what the new due date will be (IR-2011-33). Therefore, for decedents who died in 2010,
Post-Death Estate Planning Issues for 2010
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (2010 Tax Relief Act) (PL 111-312) revised tax law for estates of decedents dying in 2010, 2011 or 2012. The new rules apply for 2010 unless an executor elects to use prior law. Elections for 2010 decedents can
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Building a better CPA firm: Stepping up service offerings
A key step in business model modernization is determining how to implement services that satisfy clients and employees.
From The Tax Adviser
August 30, 2025
2025 tax software survey
July 31, 2025
