Articles
Creating and Operating Charitable Entities
Help clients choose their philanthropic paths through a private foundation or donor-advised fund.
Should a client create a private foundation (PF) or donor-advised fund (DAF) - or contribute directly to a public charity? The answer: it depends on the facts of each client’s situation. Read about PFs and DAFs from the perspectives of advisors who counsel on the creation and operation of those entities. You’ll learn the differences among PFs, DAFs and public charities, as well as how much an individual can deduct to those entities, depending on the type of property donated.
Trusts & Estates Magazine
What is a Grantor Trust and how are Grantor Trusts used in Estate Planning?
September 10, 2019Estate planners and accountants often use the phrase “Grantor Trust.” The term Grantor Trust is a term of art used to describe the tax treatment of certain trusts under the income tax code.
Greenwich Magazine - 203 Ways to Live the Good Life in Fairfield County
July 2019 IssueNo. 193 - Thank goodness you've drafted your will, so now you don't have anything to worry about. Actually, maybe you do. Contrary to popular belief, your will does not control what happens to everything you own upon your death.
Greenwich Magazine
Major changes in CT trust law offer expanded protections, possible windfall for state
July 6, 2019Sweeping changes to Connecticut’s trust laws – some of which dated back a couple of hundred years – are set to take effect on Jan. 1, bringing the state into alignment with several others and potentially creating a windfall of millions of dollars for Connecticut’s coffers.
Fairfield Couny Business Journal - Daily Voice Plus Section
How Much Will the Mansion Tax in Connecticut Increase Fees on Sales?
July 4, 2019The law, which has existed for some time, has increased rates on the most expensive homes.
Kathleen M. Merrigan, a Residential Real Estate Principal in the Greenwich office, was quoted in an article by V.L. Hendrickson published in Mansion Global on July 4, 2019.
Mansion Global
Connecticut Adopts Omnibus Trust Code
June 27, 2019Kelley Galica Peck wrote an article for Steve Leimberg’s Estate Planning Newsletter entitled “Connecticut Adopts Trust Code.”
Steve Leimberg's Estate Planning Newsletter
Fractional Gifts of Art
Reducing Capital Gains Taxes with Charitable Remainder Trusts
Trusts & Estates Magazine
Greenwich Magazine - Family Matters
From Her Career to Her Philanthropic Endeavors, Laura Beck is Breaking Down Walls
May 2019 IssueRather than avoid an uncomfortable subject, Laura Weintraub Beck, Chairman of the Private Clients Group at the Cummings & Lockwood law firm, uses her legal expertise to help clients navigate the complexities of life and death in a financially savvy and meaningful way.
Greenwich Magazine
Add Calling your Trusts and Estates Attorney to Your To Do List Before Your High School Grad Heads Off to College the Fall
May 21, 2019Congratulations! Your child has graduated high school, been accepted to college and has either turned 18 years old or is close to it. As you make your college prep to do list, you might want to add calling your trusts and estate attorney to the list.
Deducting Charitable Art Donations
Avoid pitfalls and pratfalls—seize windfalls.
April 17, 2019Girl With a Balloon by British street artist Banksy was shredded in its frame seconds after the winning telephone bid of $1.4 million at a Sotheby’s London auction on Oct. 6, 2018. The prank—believed to be arranged by the artist himself — was accomplished by a remote-control device at the back of the frame. The artwork can be restored and is believed to now be worth more than the winning $1.4 million bid!
Trusts & Estates Magazine
How Does Portability Effect Your Estate Plan?
March 27, 2019Portability is the term used to describe a relatively new provision in federal estate tax law that allows a widow or widower to use any unused federal estate tax exemption of his or her deceased spouse to shelter assets from gift tax during the surviving spouse’s life and/or estate tax at the surviving spouse’s death.
Falling From Legislative Grace
March 26, 2019The charitable deduction is meant to incentivize taxpayers to contribute to charities, not find ways to cheat the system.
When assets are transferred to one or more qualified charitable organizations on death, Internal Revenue Code Section 2055(a) allows for a deduction from the value of the decedent’s gross estate.
Trusts & Estates Magazine Website