By: Amanda Wilson
On February 20, 2014, Amanda Wilson will be a panelist on Strafford Publication’s webinar “Form 1065 Reporting and Calculations for Partnership Terminations and Transfers of Interest”. For those that are interested, here is a link with more information about this webinar.
By: Jim Hoctor
The new Florida LLC Act applies to all LLC’s formed in 2014. As of January 1, 2015, it will apply to all Florida LLC’s. Under the new Act, any action outside of the ordinary course of the LLC’s business and affairs has to be approved by the members even in a manager-managed LLC. However, this can be changed by the operating agreement. Most existing operating agreements do not deal with this. Therefore, this is one of several changes under the new act that make it important to review and update your LLC’s operating agreement.
On January 1, 2014, the federal estate tax exemption (and lifetime gift tax exemption) increased to $5,340,000 per person. This represents a $90,000 increase from $5,250,000 in 2013. Keep in mind the federal estate and gift tax exemption is “unified”. Use of federal gift tax exemption during your lifetime will reduce the amount of federal estate tax exemption remaining at your death. For example, if you give away $2,000,000 in taxable gifts during your lifetime you would likely owe no federal gift tax because you would use a portion of your lifetime federal gift tax exemption ($5,340,000 in 2004) to avoid paying federal gift tax. If you die in December 2014, however, your federal estate tax exemption amount will be reduced by the amount of lifetime federal gift tax exemption you used during your life. In our example, you have already used $2,000,000 of your exemption so you would have $3,340,000 of your federal estate tax exemption remaining to use to pass your estate to your beneficiaries free from federal estate tax.
Clients often ask me how and when to prepare for their aging parents. While dealing with this can be trying — emotionally and financially — you can make the process much easier if you begin to prepare before your parents face serious health problems. Some of the first steps to take include: assessing your parent’s financial situation, determining your parent’s concerns and talking about their estate planning. To find out more, click the image below.
What do Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sheldon Adelson of Las Vegas Sands Corp have in common? For one, they are highlighted on the Forbes “America’s Richest People” list. MSN has also reported that both are taking advantage of a tax loophole called the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) which allows wealthy Americans to direct excess earnings to their heirs without incurring the consequences of the 40 percent federal estate and gift tax.
