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Atty Dave Duringer on Hometown Radio with Dave Congalton KVEC 920AM 20241203

TAX.GD updated with IRS Inflation Adjustments for 2025

The IRS has released Revenue Procedure 2024-40, which specifies annual inflation adjustments for tax year 2025. Some highlights: Gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amounts: $13.99 million (up from $13.61 million) Annual gift tax exclusion (IRC...

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and other Charitable Planning

Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) planning can be quite complex, and the expenses involved usually are justified only with a very large gift to charity, well north of a million. Practically speaking most of this planning is tax-driven and must be to make it feasible,...

Yes California, BDOT can Yield Better Asset Protection

There seems to be a misconception among some California estate planning attorneys that BDOT planning (BDOT stands for Beneficiary Deemed Owner Trust; also called a 678 trust, named after IRC §678) is inconsistent with, and should never be used with, a trust designed...

Firearms and the California Uniform Directed Trust Act

At the beginning of this year, the California Uniform Directed Trust Act (CUDTA) went into effect, codified in Probate Code §§ 16600-16632. It was a long time coming, having been first proposed back in 2010 by our state bar’s trust and estate section. When it...

Gun HEET Revisited

Six years ago I posted this article proposing use of an advanced planning technique known as the Health and Education Exclusion Trust (HEET) to leave a dynastic legacy of firearm training. Such a trust might be called a Gun HEET. The Fall of the Republic and...

What You Give Up with a Local Estate Planning Attorney

[Central Coast residents: You can safely ignore this article because we are here to help you with comprehensive planning.] Most of our local clients prefer to have the first meeting in person at our office in Morro Bay. After that initial meeting, many of these local...

IRS Allows Late Filing of QSST Election (PLR 202428003)

Under Private Letter Ruling 202428003, the IRS has allowed late filing of a Qualified Subchapter S Trust (QSST) election, to obtain relief from termination of S corporation status. The corporation represented that the termination was inadvertent and not for tax...

Estate Reduction Surgery (SLATs, etc.) May Be Urgent

Estate reduction surgery may be more urgent than you think. Understandably, a lot of folks are sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what happens in November — not only in the presidential race, but in the congressional races that will determine the balance...

Buying a Business with Real Estate

Buying a business and purchasing real estate are two very different investments. Business ownership typically requires some management skills and knowledge about market conditions, consumer trends, staffing, and finances. Ownership of real estate, on the other hand,...

Hiring Family Members to Work for Your Business

The decision to hire family members for your business is a delicate balancing act that involves both personal and professional considerations. Working with loved ones can create a sense of trust and unity within the workplace and has been shown to increase business...

Should You Form More Than One LLC for Your Business?

There is no law that limits the number of LLCs an entrepreneur can own. Forming multiple LLCs may make sense under certain circumstances: for example, companies that have several rental properties, separate businesses with common ownership, or when one business makes...

What to Do If Your Business Is in Distress

Increasing costs and rising interest rates have impacted many businesses. If your business is in crisis, there are steps you can take that could improve your business’s financial condition and help it successfully move forward. Entrepreneurs are competent, but they...

What Is an LLC Distribution?

A distribution from a limited liability company (LLC) is a payment of cash or property made by an LLC to the LLC’s owners, also known as members. Although state law sets forth certain default rules, LLC members can specify in the LLC’s operating agreement when and how...

Should You Convert Your Sole Proprietorship to an LLC?

When you are first starting a business, operating it as a sole proprietorship may make a lot of sense. Sole proprietorships are simple and inexpensive to set up and maintain: they are operated by a single taxpayer and are the most common form of business organization....

Ahem… American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2024 (AHEMA)

The American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2024 (AHEMA) is a giant $5 trillion tax increase now before both houses of Congress which has the potential, if Democrats end up with enough control after elections this year, to radically change estate planning. These...

How Businesses Can Plan for Sunsetting TCJA Provisions

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 made several significant changes to the tax code that affect small businesses and business owners. It introduced the qualified business interest deduction, added a bonus depreciation deduction for qualifying property, and...

Tax Deductions for Home-Based Businesses

The rise of home-based businesses represents a fundamental shift in the way Americans work. Home businesses offer their owners a convenient and flexible way to earn income without commuting to a traditional office. They may also qualify for tax breaks in the form of...

Ayn Duringer Headed for Law School, Aims for Top Tax Program

My daughter, Ayn, will be heading for law school this Fall! She was offered a very nice package covering most expenses of attending the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Most estate planning attorneys like me, especially those of us...

SECURE 2.0 Act, You, and Your IRA Beneficiaries

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0 Act). The previous SECURE Act in 2020 made several changes to retirement planning: It increased the required beginning date (RBD) for required...

The BDOT Option for Trusted Beneficiaries

The Beneficiary Deemed Owner Trust (BDOT) is one of several options to consider for “trusted beneficiaries” (pun intended) to whom you are open to giving some access to trust income and/or principal. (Another option might be the Beneficiary Controlled...

SECURE Act: How It Will Affect You and the Beneficiaries of Your Retirement Accounts

  Dear Clients and Students, On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act, which is effective January 1, 2020. The Act is the most impactful legislation affecting...

California’s new Uniform Trust Decanting Act brings Opportunity, Risk

California recently (9/14/18) joined a few other states that have enacted the Uniform Trust Decanting Act. A lot of states have decanting statutes, several dozen in fact, but they vary greatly and this uniform act is more restrictive than those in some of the more...

The flexibility of stretch IRAs: Learn how your IRA can benefit your spouse and other beneficiaries

  IRA stretch is great in theory, but your beneficiary can withdraw the principal at any time and there is no asset protection. As an estate planning attorney, I can make the stretch real by using an asset-protected standalone IRA Beneficiary Trust, separate from...

Basis Consistency and Reporting for Property Acquired from a Decedent

  Significant coverage was devoted at the recently concluded 51st Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning in Orlando, Fla. to the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations (proposed regs) concerning basis consistency and reporting for property...

Life Insurance: It Was Never Just About Taxes

  This article raises important points — plan for the long-term and don’t let taxes direct the planning over more important goals — plus it’s a good review of the many benefits of life insurance. But as I’ve previously noted, the...

Taxation of Aliens Trying to Leave America – Don’t Go Home without your IRS Sailing Permit or You Aren’t Coming Back

  Article authored by my friend Brian Dooley, a top international tax expert: Before leaving the United States or any of its possessions permanently or for an extended amount of time, all U.S. resident aliens and nonresident aliens (with certain exceptions) must...