Estate & Financial Planning Articles
Asset Protection
Year-End Gifting

Towards the end of the year, some families consider making financial gifts to others as part of their year-end tax planning.

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Estate Planning
Year-End Gift, Tax, Retirement, & Estate Planning

As another year-end approaches, tasks on your financial “to-do” list should include a reexamination of your current gifting, retirement, and estate planning and act on key year-end planning opportunities.

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The U.S. Tax Court’s Opinion in McDougall v. Commissioner and Its Implications for Estate Planning

The U.S. Tax Court’s recent opinion in McDougall v. Commissioner (163 T.C. No. 5, September 17, 2024) serves as a critical point of reference in estate tax law, specifically addressing the commutation of Qualified Terminable Interest Property (QTIP) trusts and the complex interplay of gift tax regulations

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Estate Planning
Year-End Gifting for Estate Planning: Maximizing Tax Savings Before the 2017 Tax Act Sunset

Estate planning is a critical component of wealth management, especially for high-net-worth individuals seeking to transfer assets to future generations with minimal tax implications.

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Estate Planning
Decanting Trusts Under North Carolina’s Uniform Trust Decanting Act

The North Carolina Uniform Trust Decanting Act (UTDA) allows trustees to “decant” or transfer assets from an irrevocable trust to a new trust.

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Estate Planning
What Exactly Is a Trust, and Do I Need Different Types of Trusts in My Estate Plan?

A trust is essentially a contract between two people, one who is the grantor of the trust and the other the trustee or beneficiary.

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Estate Planning
What Exactly Is Estate Planning And When Do We Need It?

Estate planning encompasses a wide variety of subject matter, from how your assets may be titled and who is the beneficiary of your insurance to IRAs and 401(k)s, to the creation of business entities, the establishment of buy-sell agreements, the creation of trusts and gifting during your lifetime.

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Estate Administration
What Happens If Somebody Dies With Property But No Will?

It is a common assumption between spouses that at the death of the first spouse to die, the surviving spouse will inherit all the deceased’s property.

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Estate Administration
Administration Of Proper and Intestate Estates

We can demonstrate the importance of estate planning by comparing two estates with different approaches to estate planning.

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Estate Administration
What Is Probate And When Is Probate Triggered In North Carolina?

Probate is the court-supervised process over which personal assets are transferred out of the individual’s name into the names of their heirs or beneficiaries after death.

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