Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

Book on IRS Compliance Issues and IRA Trust Violations

Seymour Goldberg (CPA, MBA, JD) recently published a book entitled, IRA Guide to IRS Compliance Issues Including IRA Trust Violations, American Bar Association, (Apr. 2013).  Provided below is a description of the book from the ABA Store’s website:

Based on government reports from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the GAO, there is a significant amount of noncompliance from taxpayers who make excess contributions to IRA accounts, and from taxpayers who fail to receive timely required minimum distributions.

The IRS is developing a long-term compliance initiative to reduce the growing noncompliance involving retirement accounts. This strategy will include the development of techniques to identify individuals who are not in compliance. It will include, according to a government report, education, outreach programs. and other guidance.

This essential guide outlines many of the mistakes that are made by IRA account holders from an IRS compliance point of view, understanding that is quite easy for a taxpayer who has an IRA or inherits an IRA to fall into a tax trap and violate the IRA rules. The IRA Guide to IRS Compliance Issues will help you be aware of the potential IRA violations that may be triggered and how to be proactive and not reactive when it comes to IRA issues. Issues covered in the book include:

•  IRA Trust Checklist with Practitioner Tips

•  Statute of Limitations Involving IRA Penalties

•  IRS Levy on IRA to Satisfy Federal Tax Debts

•  Early Distribution Penalty Violation

•  Required Minimum Distribution Penalties

•  Important IRA Distribution Tax Traps to Know About

•  Excess Contributions

•  Violations of the Rollover Rules Non-Spouse Beneficiaries

•  Disclosure Issues and IRA Trusts

•  Circular 230 Violations

•  Loss of Creditor Rights Protection of Decedent's IRA in State Court

•  Asset Protection for Inherited IRAs

•  And much more

Discover the potential legal pitfalls that may befall your clients who may inadvertently have violated complex IRS IRA rules, and have the information you need to help you deal with your clients' fear of pending audit with this valuable addition to your resource material.

New Texas Estate Planning Handbook

Dianne Reis (Attorney, Texas) has recently published a practice guide for Texas attorneys entitled, Texas Estate Planning. Provided below is a description of the event:

Book on the Use of Disclaimers In Estate Planning

Christopher P. Cline (Regional Wealth Management Director, Oregon and SW Washington) recently published a book entitled, Disclaimers In Estate Planning, Second Edition, American Bar Association, (Apr. 2012). Provided below is a description of the book from the ABA Store's website:

Disclaimers are governed by both state and federal law. Section 2518 introduced the term "qualified disclaimer" for federal transfer tax purposes, but has little impact on the state law of disclaimers, and does not apply to disclaimers made before 1977. For those earlier disclaimers (which will be fairly rare) the tax law that applies involves a tangle of historical decisions, rulings and regulations. All of this requires that the first thing a practitioner must do when determining whether a disclaimer is appropriate is to determine which federal law applies and how state law will affect it.

Disclaimers in Estate Planning by Christopher P. Cline assists the estate planner in making those determinations, understanding the applicable Uniform Acts involved and the specific issues raised by Section 2518, and creating the best strategies and techniques for effectively utilizing disclaimers.

Topics covered include:

• State disclaimer laws
• Federal tax law of pre-1977 transfers
• Federal tax law of the qualified disclaimer (Section 2518)
• General transfer tax uses of disclaimer
• Using disclaimers for credit shelter drafting and repairs
• More sophisticated tax disclaimer techniques
• Disclaimer planning with generation-skipping transfers
• Disclaimers for income tax planning and creditor avoidance
• Potential disclaimer problems

Book on Inherited IRAs

Seymour Goldberg (Partner, Goldberg & Goldberg, P.C.) recently published a book entitled, Inherited IRAs: What Every Practioner Must Know, American Bar Association, (Feb. 2013). Provided below is a description of the book from the ABA Store's website:

The rules and regulations surrounding estate planning and retirement asset distributions can be very confusing. One seemingly tiny mistake or oversight could result in a morass of legal issues and penalties, about which a less-informed practitioner may be completely unaware. It is your responsibility as a practitioner to be familiar with these retirement distribution rules and know how to implement an estate plan that includes retirement-type assets, such as IRAs.

Inherited IRA's: What Every Practitioner Must Know is your complete guide to effectively implementing an estate plan that includes retirement-type assets, written especially for the practitioner. This important book serves as a guide to alert you, as a practitioner, to many of the retirement distribution rules that you must know in order to effectively safeguard your client and their retirement assets.

Within this concise guide, you'll find more than 100 scenarios, questions, and answers that you will most likely encounter as a practitioner dealing with often complex retirement asset distribution. In addition, checklists, sample forms, and summaries of court rulings on inherited IRA cases will provide you with additional tools and resources that will help you serve your clients through what is often a very difficult time in their lives.

This essential resource can help any retirement and estate practitioner be more responsive to questions about retirement distribution planning, and be more successful at their craft.

Handbook on Special Needs Trusts

Thomas D. Begley, Jr. (Begley Law Group, P.C., New Jersey) & Angela E. Canellos (Attorney, Wisconsin) recently published a handbook entitled, Special Needs Trusts Handbook, (2012). Provided below is a description of the book:

Special Needs Trusts Handbook is the single-volume, comprehensive resource that enables you to handle the complex requirements of drafting and administering trusts for clients who are mentally or physically disabled, or who wish to provide for others with disabilities. This one-of-a-kind reference enables you to determine which trust is appropriate, how to draft each trust to cover specific issues, and how to administer each trust - making certain that your client maintains public benefits while still receiving funds from the trust.

An emerging new field for most practitioners, the area of special needs trusts requires a single, reliable reference. The new Special Needs Trusts Handbook fills that need completely, including forms on bonus CD-ROM. You gain instant access to:

• Clear analysis of all aspects of special needs trusts
• Instructions and practice tips on how to define and meet each client’s needs
• Practical tools for properly administering special needs trusts
• Step-by-step guidance on what needs to be done, when, why, and by whom
• All the advice you need to coordinate the benefits and needs of the incapacitated
• Help in determining if your state is an SSI state, non-SSI state, 209(b) state—and more!
• A full understanding of the two types of special needs trusts —third-party and self-settled
• Complete coverage of structured settlements
• Clarification of the various public benefits programs, including Medicaid, Section 8 Housing, Social Security, Medicare, and more
• Analysis and guidance regarding tax provisions
• Numerous examples to illustrate reliable solutions to key problems
• Extensive guidance on drafting various instruments
• A single, time-saving resource that eliminates the need to search across numerous references whenever a new question arises.

New Estate Planning Forms in the ALI CLE Online Library

ALI CLE recently released new forms for estate planning in the online library.  You can buy select forms individually or buy the set of the newest forms at a discounted price.

Please click here to see the newest forms in estate planning. 

Second Edition of Estate Planning for Same Sex Couples

The ABA recently released a new reference to use when providing services to LGBT clients. The second edition of Estate Planning for Same Sex Couples is now available. The abstract from the book’s website is below:

Estate planning is more than post-death planning. It is also life planning. Drafting well-considered legal documents for clients gives them piece of mind. The myriad legal issues facing LGBT individuals and couples remain volatile. LGBT clients are the only ones whose legal status and legal rights are dependent on where they live, visit, or travel. Additionally, there are challenges facing the community, including basic rights concerning their children or property.

With so many legal issues to consider, lawyers must look past appearances to be sure they have all of the information needed to help these clients. The Second Edition to the Benjamin Franklin Award recipient, Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples, serves as a vital reference to provide services to this client base. Lawyers can use this book as a complete resource tool to handle LGBT legal issues and the array of variables among the states. Chapters include information on wills and trusts, children, estate planning, and dealing with senior LGBT clients. A companion CD holds forms and documents to aid in the estate planning process.

Please click here to purchase the book.

New 15th Edition of Estate Planning and Taxation

The New 15th edition of Estate Planning and Taxation is now available.  Below are some of the book's features as listed on the publisher's website: 

• Is written for the professional or student pursuing a career in financial services, taxation, or law in which estate planning and estate and gift taxation is but one of several principal areas of practice.
• Is chock-full of pedagogical devices – including examples to clarify concepts, end-of-chapter questions with solutions, glossary, tax and valuation tables, and more.
• Includes an instructors package with test bank
• Draws heavily on primary sources of the law, both Internal Revenue Code and cases.
• Is adaptable to law school courses in estate planning and taxation, giving the law student a strongly quantitative slant that is often overlooked in traditional law books, even those dealing with taxes.
• Features access to ETAX 2012 –an educational estate and gift tax spreadsheet program that calculates basic estate tax, state death tax credit, and cumulative gift tax figures.

Please click here for more information or to purchase the book--available as an EBOOK or in printed form.

1st Bi-Annual Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal Newsletter

The Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal has published the first issue of its new bi-annual newsletter. The newsletter lists the journal's accomplishments and activities from the preceding semester, its upcoming CLE, and most importantly a list of the articles the journal expects to publish in Book 1, Volume V. If you are interested in the articles that the journal publishes, the journal's past articles can be found in full through Volume IV on Westlaw or you can subscribe to receive paperback copies of the journal. If you are interested and enjoy the articles that the journal publishes, make sure to also visit The Codicil, the journal's online addendum.

Book on Trusts From The Perspective of Beneficiaries and Trustees

Hartley Goldstone (Founder, Navigating the Trustscape) and Kathy Wiseman (Founder/President, Working Systems, Inc.) recently published a book entitled, Trustworthy: New Angles on Trusts From Beneficiaries and Trustees, (2012). Provided below is a description on the book from Amazon:

TrustWorthy is a collection of 25 personal -- and positive -- stories told by beneficiaries, trustees and their advisors. The book speaks to the human side of personal trusts, leaving the technical side (legal, tax, investments) to others.

The book's objective? To begin to transform the most complex, conflicted and difficult relationship known under the law -- the "arranged marriage" between beneficiary and trustee -- by supplanting prevailing negative assumptions and behaviors. Readers are given a peek at "what other families do."

Storytellers tackle big questions, for example:

• How can trusts be used to promote beneficiaries' maturity?
• What should I look for in a trustee?
• How can beneficiaries successfully integrate inheritances into their lives?
• How can trustees, prudently and within legal and other constraints, administer trusts in a way that enhances beneficiaries' lives?
• How can the widespread dissatisfaction, and all the talk of "problem" beneficiaries and "problem" trustees, give way to more creative and productive relationships?

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this book to my attention.

Book on Disclaimers

Christopher P. Cline (Attorney, Wells Fargo Bank's Regional Wealth Management Director) recently published a book entitled, Disclaimers in Estate Planning (2d ed., 2012). Below is a description of the book provided by the publisher, the American Bar Association:

Disclaimers are governed by both state and federal law. Section 2518 introduced the term "qualified disclaimer" for federal transfer tax purposes, but has little impact on the state law of disclaimers, and does not apply to disclaimers made before 1977. For those earlier disclaimers (which will be fairly rare) the tax law that applies involves a tangle of historical decisions, rulings and regulations. All of   this requires that the first thing a practitioner must do when determining whether a disclaimer is appropriate is to determine which federal law applies and how state law will affect it. 

Disclaimers in Estate Planning by Christopher P. Cline assists the estate planner in making those determinations, understanding the applicable Uniform Acts involved and the specific issues raised by Section 2518, and creating the best strategies and techniques for effectively utilizing disclaimers.

        Topics covered include:

• State disclaimer laws
• Federal tax law of pre-1977 transfers
• Federal tax law of the qualified disclaimer (Section 2518)
• General transfer tax uses of disclaimer
• Using disclaimers for credit shelter drafting and repairs
• More sophisticated tax disclaimer techniques
• Disclaimer planning with generation-skipping transfers
• Disclaimer for income tax planning and creditor avoidance
• Potential disclaimer problems 

Book on Tax Planning for Retirement

Rick Rodgers (Certified Financial Planner, President, Rodgers & Associates, Pennsylvania) published a book entitled, The New Three-Legged Stool: A Tax Efficient Approach to Retirement Planning, WIley Trading (2009). Provided below is the book's description from Amazon.com:

Most people dream of retirement as a relaxing, worry-free time in their lives. What many do not realize is that the IRS is also looking forward to the day you retire. Our complicated tax system can mean the government is entitled to a significant amount of your retirement assets-unless you protect them properly.

Now, Rick Rodgers, founder of one of the country's top wealth managers, helps you retain as much of your hard-earned retirement assets as possible. His unique Three-Legged Stool approach to financial security makes it both easy to understand how to achieve this retirement security and difficult to "lose balance"-that is, to get off-track once you've established your plan.

Rodgers will show you how to balance between the three "legs," or components, you will need to create the most tax-effective financial structure.

• Leg One, Tax-Deferred Savings Strategies
• Leg Two, After-Tax Savings Strategies
• Leg Three, Tax-Free Savings Strategies

Plus, a closer look at

• the all-important Retirement Distribution (R/D) Factor
• Social Security
• Estate planning

With real-life case studies, tips, and recommendations from Rodgers' own experiences as a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Retirement Counselor, this guide will help you establish a plan to build the retirement you and your family have always dreamed of-and deserve.

Estate Planning for the Blended Family

L. Paul Hood and Emily Bouchard have recently published their book entitled Estate Planning for the Blended Family which is available in both print and ebook format.

Here is the publisher's description of the book:

Make plans for the future of your unique family!

Every family is different, and blended families -- defined as those with children from previous marriages or couplings included -- can be even more difficult to plan for. When dealing with complicated family situations, cookie-cutter estate plans just don’t work!

Estate planning can be difficult as the subject matter can seem complex for non-lawyers, and family members can be hesitant to clearly voice their opinions on touchy matters. However, planning the future of your family’s estate is crucial for the emotional and financial well-being and stability of all family members, and having everything in order will bring invaluable peace of mind.

Estate Planning for Blended Families outlines estate planning specifically for blended families, addressing the special concerns and issues that may arise from the process in this very special of
circumstances.

By providing various examples of different blended families, the authors give advice and focus on techniques of estate planning for blended families in many different situations. Whether you are a member of a blended family looking to plan your estate or an attorney looking for advice, this book can help you move forward with confidence.

This book includes a CD-ROM full of supplemental resources and helpful tools to better plan your family’s estate.

Book on Estate Planning for Second Marriages

Stephanie B. Casteel (Attorney, Georgia) & Eric A. Manterfield (Partner, Indiana) recently published a book entitled, Estate Planning for Second Marriages, (2011).The description of the book is provided below:

Many married couples you represent will be in a second (or subsequent) marriage and will have children from a prior marriage. Although there are certainly exceptions to this general rule, it is still unusual for clients to adopt the children of their new spouse. With this reason, the couple frequently tells you about “his” children, “her” children and, perhaps, “their” children.

Unlike the typical couple involved in a first marriage, couples involved in a second marriage frequently have substantial assets in their individual names alone. Although there certainly can and will be jointly held property, the existence of substantial assets in the sole name of each spouse may be significant. Joint property generally passes to the surviving joint owner at the death of the first spouse. Life insurance and retirement benefits will pass to the surviving spouse if he or she is named as the beneficiary.

Many couples in a second marriage want their individually owned assets to pass to their children from a prior marriage, either when the first spouse dies or at the death of the surviving spouse. They may want the couples’ assets to pass to the two families after the death of the surviving spouse. This transfer will not occur in accordance with the couples’ wishes without careful estate planning.

Estate Planning for Second Marriages helps attorneys handle these blended family situations, in which each spouse has children from a prior marriage and each spouse wishes to protect his and her individual assets for their respective children from the prior marriage. The couple also hopes to provide for the survivor, or if a divorce occurs, to provide for an orderly, predictable and conflict-free distribution of assets. The couple also hope to make use of the tax advantages available to married couples, such as filing joint income tax returns or making split gifts, in a mutually advantageous, systematic, fair, and transparent, way.

Casteel and Manterfield cover:

• Prenuptial and Postnuptial agreements
• Managing asset distribution
• Whether and how one spouse can control the other spouse's use of separate property
• What specific gifts are desired even when the first spouse dies
• The ethical constraints involved in representing the couple 

The text contains numerous practice pointers such as:

Although many clients who own sole title to the “marital” residence wish to permit the other spouse to reside there, the real world restrictions which that spouse wishes to impose make the drafting and later administration of this type of trust very difficult.

A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) could purchase the marital residence from the husband who owns the property. The QPRT provides the husband and wife with respective life estates, for the life of the survivor of the couple. The Trust terminates to provide a remainder interest for the benefit of the husband’s children. All those benefitting from this Trust contribute amounts that reflect their respective actuarial interests in the Trust.

Book on Asset Protection Trusts

Frederick J. Tansill (Attorney, Virginia) & Duncan E. Osborne (Partner, Texas) recently published a book entitled, Asset Protection Trusts and Agreements, (2011). A description of the book is below:

Although it may be legal malpractice not to recommend asset protection planning to clients for whom it is obviously appropriate, asset protection planning often involves difficult fact situations—and difficult clients.

In Asset Protection Trusts & Agreements, Frederick J. Tansill and Duncan E. Osborne help practitioners avoid these Seven Deadly Sins of asset protection and many other traps:

Insolvency

Make sure the transferors retain post-transfer solvency, disclose transfers whenever possible, and avoid making transfers immediately before increasing their risk exposure. An attorney who allegedly assists an insolvent client in shielding assets from creditors may find himself or herself a defendant in collateral litigation with creditors. Banco Popular North America v. Gandi,876 A.2d 253 (N.J. 2005) (refusing to dismiss negligence claim alleging that attorney misrepresented the debtor’s finances). To help avoid this trap, the book includes a sample Affidavit of Solvency that practitioners can customize to meet particular client needs. Both Tansill and Osborne discuss this topic in detail.

Sloth

Plan ahead: Remember that for Medicaid asset protection purposes any assets added to the trust will be subject to a five-year look-back period. Allow trustees and others to add additional assets to the asset protection trust, so that initial assets may be granted protection. Attorney who fails to explain the limits of Medicaid asset protection to clients may get into trouble if a client’s asset protection trusts are considered “available assets” for Medicaid qualification purposes.

Collusion

Choose trustees and successor trustees who will exercise their discretion (without considering their personal interests) in order to preserve assets, but be sure to avoid any collusion or advance agreements or “side agreements” between settlors and beneficiaries. Attorney may be subject to liability to creditors for helping debtors conceal assets.

Unlimited Powers

Perhaps permit the Trustee to exercise a limited—not unlimited—power of appointment to provide maximum flexibility in naming contingent beneficiaries. Ahern v. Thomas, 248 Conn. 708, 739, 733 A.2d 756, 775 (1999) (trustees did not have a general power to distribute trust principal; the trust was not an available resource).

Rigidity

Allow the trustee flexibility in determining investment strategies, including the ability to invest for capital appreciation or income. Depending on the needs of the beneficiaries, the settlor may wish to choose investments that yield little or no income (if he or she is likely to apply for Medicaid in the future) or substantial income if the asset protection trust is designed to cover the beneficiary’s living expenses.

One-Size-Fits-All

Determine if the client needs an income-only trust. If so, prohibit the trustee from (1) treating capital gains as income, (2) adjusting between income and principal, or (3) converting principal and income to a unitrust amount. If not, permit the trustee to invest for total return without regard to distinctions between income and principal. The trust may need to prohibit reliance on any state law statute or doctrine that would otherwise give the trustee the power to convert any part of a trust into a total return unitrust.

Disrespecting Elders

Allow distributions to children or others who might then choose to pay privately for an elder's care. For example, the trust might give the settlor a special limited power of appointment over the trust corpus in favor of the settlor’s children or other relatives—who may be inclined to provide the settlor with personal, financial, or emotional care and assistance.

Osborne and Tansill help readers understand the limits of asset protection. The book includes many invaluable suggestions for attorneys, such as: Document the matters that you decline to undertake.

Book on Drafting Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

Lawrence Brody (Attorney, Missouri) & Donald O. Jansen (Senior Tax Counsel at the University of Texas System, Texas) recently published a book, The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: Forms with Drafting Notes (3rd ed. 2011). A description of the book is below:

An integral part of every estate planner's practice is giving advice and making recommendations about life insurance. This best-selling volume in the popular Insurance Counsel or series guides you through one of the most fundamental aspects of sophisticated estate planning--drafting and setting up an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust. Now completely updated, this user-friendly primer offers a comprehensive overview of the types of insurance trusts you can draft for your clients, and includes examples of the necessary forms and a memorandum you can use in your daily practice. 

Clear and concise, The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust will help you protect your clients' estate and assets from taxation. It differentiates between the two types of trusts you may use, identifying the best one that will work for your client. The book contains these sample forms, both in the text and on an accompanying CD-ROM:

• Single Life Policy Trust: Intended to primarily benefit the insured's spouse and children
• Survivorship Policy Trust: Meant to serve as a long term, generation-skipping "dynasty" trust for the benefit of children and future descendants

Accompanying each of the two sample forms are:

• Notes to Drafter Section: Alerts you to special problems associated with planning and drafting
• Clear Outline: Written in layperson's language, this is designed to provide nontechnical guidance to your client regarding the provisions of each sample form

Finally, this primer contains both a sample memoradum to a client who has created an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, outlining the procedures which need to be followed by the insured/grantor and by the trustee in order to comply with the requirements of the agreement and federal tax law, and a sample transmittal letter to accompany the memorandum.

New Edition of Book on Taxation and the Funding of Non-qualified Deferred Compensation

Marla J. Aspinwall (Attorney, Los Angeles, CA) & Michael G. Goldstein (CEO, Summit Alliance Executive Benefits, LLC) recently published a book, Taxation and Funding of Non-qualified Deferred Compensation: A Complete Guide to Design and Implementation (2nd ed. 2012). A description of the book is below:

There are a variety of problems that can be addressed by nonqualified deferred compensation ("NQDC") arrangements. NQDC is essentially a compensation arrangement that provides for the payment of cash, property or benefits and does not come within one of the categories of deferred compensation arrangements which are "qualified" under applicable tax statutes. This updated edition ofTaxation and Funding of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation is a complete and current resource for using this extremely flexible planning device to best address your client's financial goals.

Written by specialists in the field, Taxation and Funding of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation defines the perspective of both the employee and employer in using this planning tool. The authors demonstrate how NQDC can provide solutions to complex compensation issues and provide up-to-date information on:

• The ways that NQDC can be tailored to serve the needs of employers and employees, and the tax consequences for each;
• Differences in the timing of NQDC benefits under income tax and FICA rules;
• How NQDC arrangements can be structured to comply with new tax rules under Section 409A;
• Opportunities to minimize potential estate and income taxes on death benefits paid under NQDC;
• How Section 457 of the IRC is applicable to NQDC arrangements for tax-exempt organizations and the unique burdens this puts on state and tax-exempt employers and their employees;
• How NQDC impacts social security benefits, and when the risk of forfeiture should be structured to lapse in order to avoid substantial reductions in these payments;
• Using NQDC with other plans, including split-dollar and 401(k) wrap plans; and
• Issues with financial accounting and securities laws.

Book on FLPs, LLCs, and other family business entities

Louis A. Mezzullo published a book entitled, An Estate Planner's Guide to Family Business Entities: Family Limited Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies, and More (3rd ed. 2010). The publisher's description of the book is provided below:

As the nation's population ages, an increasing number of clients are looking for the most effective way to pass their investments on to younger family members. This updated edition of An Estate Planner's Guide to Family Business Entities provides a complete and timely framework for selecting the most appropriate means of transferring wealth through the establishment of a business entity, including S corporations, C corporations, partnerships and LLCs. 

As with the other books in Louis A. Mezzullo's popular series, An Estate Planner's Guide to Family Business Entities explains complex information in a logical, user-friendly style. Updated to reflect recent significant changes in the area, it gives lawyers and financial planners the necessary background to accurately advise clients on their choice of entity options. Mezzullo discusses the different techniques available for most effectively planning the transfer of a client's wealth, including trusts, S corporations, C corporations, partnerships and LLCs. To guide the selection of the most appropriate entity to meet a clients objectives, he offers a thorough comparison of the advantages, disadvantages and restrictions of each type of entity. 

The book begins with a concise explanation of the objectives and techniques of estate planning for owners of closely held businesses. Subsequent chapters provide a practical guide to the variety of forms of legal business entities available to help clients minimize estate and gift taxes while also realizing a number of non-tax benefits. Among the topics covered include:

• Entity classification for tax purposes
• Recent developments relating to S corporations
• Transfer tax issues
• Partnership taxation
• Limited partnerships and LLCs
• Special valuation rules under Chapter 14
• Sample forms
• Examples of tax savings

"Winning The Money Game: Separating The Myths From The Truth"

Here is the publisher's description of this new book:

Winning The Money Game is a must read for anyone who wants to know the real truth about achieving financial independence. Find out what you don’t know about spending, saving, investing, insuring and planning wisely for the future…so you can achieve financial independence!

Ike Ikokwu is the rare accountant who guarantees success to clients who follow his advice. His education includes a unique blend of three financially-based accreditations: Certified Financial Planner, Registered Investment Advisor, and Certified Public Accountant. His professional background includes experience as a CPA at 2 of the Big 6 Accounting Firms, a Tax Consultant for one of the fastest growing consulting firms in the US, a Financial Advisor at a Nationally-Known Financial Planning Firm and as a small business owner in Georgia for the past 8 years.

The ABA Practical Guide to Estate Planning

Jay A. Soled (Attorney, New York, NY) recently published his book, The ABA Practical Guide to Estate Planning (ABA 2011). A description of the book is below:

To educate you on all aspects of estate planning, this new guide discusses why it is important for your clients to have an estate plan and delves in the details of the estate planning process, including an investigation and examination of the remnants of the nation's transfer tax laws. Questions asked by clients may include:

• Why do I need an estate plan?
• What kind of durable power of attorney is necessary?
• Should I pass my assets outright or in trust for the benefit of my spouse, children, and grandchildren?
• How can I minimize my transfer tax exposure and engage in asset protection planning?
• Besides an estate plan, what other documents should we have?

The ABA Practical Guide to Estate Planning will help you guide your clients to executive and effective estate plan to fit their needs. For both the novice and experience estate planning practitioner, this practical guide offers sound advice from leading estate planners around the country who share their knowledge and expertise so that you don't miss a step in the process!