2018 essential tax and wealth planning guide

Family office

Wealth transfer planning alternatives

In this chapter, we address vital preparedness issues associated with the death of a principal, audit readiness, risk management, and cyber risk. We also provide perspective on how family offices can efficiently transform or transition when the need arises.

With the Wealth transfer planning alternatives section, you may experience a sense of déjà vu. The new tax law includes a significant increase to the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping tax exemption, creating a window of opportunity similar to the one leading up to the last major change in 2013. Now is a great time to take another look at all of your estate and wealth transfer plans and make proactive refinements or new headway.

Postmortem considerations

Tax policy update

This chapter provides you with insights on how a well-thought-out estate plan can remove the friction that may families are left to deal with in the wake of someone’s passing. For those executors left with estate plans that, for many of life’s reasons, were left incomplete or not well constructed, postmortem planning becomes the imperative to shepherd the decedent’s assets to their orderly distribution.

In late December 2017, Congress approved and President Trump signed into law a massive tax reform package that lowers tax rates on corporations, pass-through entities, individuals, and estates. Our tax policy update provides an overview of key provisions in the tax reform law that are likely to impact upper-income individuals, their estates, and business holdings. It also provides resources for staying on top of tax law modifications and guidance that could impact your planning.

Bonus section: Choice of entity

the new tax law created substantial changes in corporate, pass-through, and individual tax provisions. In light of these changes, many companies and their owners are now asking whether it makes sense to change their entity structure. This chapter explores the numerous factors to consider before moving forward with a conversion—including the many facts and circumstances of your business and specific individual shareholder/partner situations.

Individual income tax planning

Foundational wealth transfer planning

With the potential for tax reform on the horizon, your peripheral view may include glimpses of change in individual tax rates or deductions. However, as you consider individual income tax planning matters, your goals and objectives need to be front and center. Take another look at planning for your 2017 individual tax matters and concentrate on what is available to you today, based on current law, with an eye toward the issues and opportunities that tax reform may create for you tomorrow. Keeping these perspectives in balance will help you realize tax planning for you and your family based on your overall objectives.

Effective wealth transfer planning is not just about putting an estate plan in place, it is designing the blueprint from which a legacy will be established. It also requires periodic reassessment to ensure it reflects changes such as life events, market and regulatory changes, and evolving legacy objectives. Developing an effective estate plan may not only reduce estate costs and taxes, it can also lessen the likelihood of family conflict and preserve wealth for future generations. Keeping these objectives in constant view and gathering an effective team of advisers can help ensure the success of this ongoing planning process.

Philanthropic planning

Tax policy update

Your legacy is not only how you want to be remembered, but should also comprise a set of guiding principles your family will be encouraged to uphold. Philanthropy can play a large part in establishing your legacy while delivering tax benefits in the process. The path to tax-efficient charitable planning is winding and complicated—particularly in today’s legislative environment. Matching your charitable vision to a real-world planned giving strategy requires thoughtful consideration and continued attention to detail to protect the deductibility of your contributions.

In this year’s philanthropic planning insights, we specifically address what you need to know about making charitable donations to relief organizations serving those locations hit hard by recent natural disasters.

While Congress has made recent progress toward tax reform, the end destination remains a moving target, as does the timing to get there. Despite the stated expectations of congressional Republican leaders that tax reform will be enacted by the end of this year, some are speculating that action on tax reform could slip into 2018. Our tax policy update provides an overview of the key provisions in the House bill of interest to upper-income individuals. It also looks at some of the political and policy challenges ahead as the legislative action turns to the Senate.

Bonus section: Tax-related identity theft

All too often a taxpayer discovers when filing their tax return that someone has already fraudulently filed a tax return under their name. This is tax-related identity theft. It occurs when someone uses your personal information—such as your name, Social Security number, or other information—without your permission to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. This bonus section closely examines this pervasive issue to uncover the warning signs, offer approaches for mitigating your individual risks, understand what the IRS is doing to prevent tax-related identity theft, and inform you of the steps to take should you become a victim.