Dreaming of palm trees but haven’t made the move to Florida? You don’t have to live in the Sunshine State to take advantage of the state’s powerful new estate planning tool, the Community Property Trust, or CPT. A CPT is a special kind of trust that some married couples can use to save on taxes […]
“Coyotes have the gift of seldom being seen; they keep to the edge of vision … voices full of authority and rebuke.”
Imagine a mangy, old grey wolf with matted fur, missing teeth and ribs poking through its sides. This fearsome warrior has fought countless battles over the years, winning some and losing others. That wolf is an apt metaphor for the federal estate tax system. Born in 1916, the federal estate tax has been a mighty hunter […]
“Some of it’s magic, some of it’s tragic, but I had a good life all the way.”
Picture a tiki bar at sunset, the strum of a steel drum, and a frosty margarita sweating in your hand. Jimmy Buffett, the late pirate poet, spent his life crafting songs urging us to slow down and live like every day is a beach party. His music was magic, but his estate plan? Well, that’s […]
“It’s a good idea to review past mistakes before committing new ones.”
Growing up, I spent many summers on the family farm in northwestern Illinois. At about the age of 12, I was considered responsible enough to carry my own rifle and a pocketful of bullets – and old enough to pitch in when my help was needed with the cattle. My grandfather raised mostly Charolais, a breed […]
“Wills ... are not written in stone—for all their granite legal language—and they can be bent...”
A generous grandfather, a simple will, a passel of smart lawyers, and a commitment to straight talk with the family about money. What could possibly go wrong? Just about everything, as it turns out. More than a decade before he died in 2019, Barron Hilton, the billionaire hotelier, informed his family that he intended to […]