Estate planning

Increased taxes on long-term capital gains has renewed interest in trusts that can sell donated assets, avoid tax, and pay a stream of income to the donors.

In the wake of this summer's Supreme Court ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act and Prop 8 -- as well as ensuing federal clarifications related to tax rules, employee spousal benefits and more -- same-sex couples now say they need help with financial planning.

The toughest conversations that advisors need to have with their clients have nothing to do with investment strategies.

Wealthy families' tangled needs can create a mess of inconsistencies and other problems.

Planners need to help clients express their wishes about end-of-life decisions before it's too late.

The changes to the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program introduce credit underwriting criteria to the product for the first time, which until now only had been using actuarial standards in the decision making process, a reverse mortgage specialist said.

Clients often walk in the door with an idea about how they’d like to leave their assets. It’s an advisor’s job to help them understand issues they may not have considered.

As the court battle between Michael Jackson’s heirs and entertainment company AEG heads to the jury, the case highlights five legal challenges and complications that the estate executors have had to worry about in the last few months alone.

IRS private letter ruling gives heirs choices about annuities.

How are you preparing clients for the cost of possibly living into their 80s, 90s or 100s?

As summer comes to a close, we're taking a look back at some of the hottest stories this season. Whether you were on vacation or busy working -- maybe you just finally have time to catch up on reading over the long weekend -- we've gathered the summer's top stories all in one place.

The estate is arguing that a tax bill calculated by the IRS overvalued assets including real estate, a Bentley automobile and the late singer’s “image and likeness.”

The IRS is going after the estate of Bill Davidson, former owner of the Detroit Pistons and auto industry supplier Guardian Industries, to the tune of more than $2 billion.

Proceed with care. That’s what bankers, accountants and wealth managers are telling same-sex couples considering financial changes because of the Supreme Court’s rejection of a federal law denying them benefits.

A terminal diagnosis for Simpson's co-creator Sam Simon pushed him to immediately address his estate and charitable giving plans. His story offers an important lesson for your clients.

Beyond the hard work of tax-advantaged strategies and complex trusts, we spotlight the good works of planners

For any number of reasons, clients sometimes want to prevent their inheritors from draining their IRA accounts right after they die. LPL Financial is joining a handful of other firms in offering a turnkey product -- a so-called inherited “trusteed IRA” -- for advisors to use in these situations.

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision last month striking down the Defense of Marriage Act may have solved the estate tax problems of the lead plaintiff, Edith Windsor, but it still is leaving a lot of uncertainty among same-sex couples, particularly those in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.

To put it bluntly, James Gandolfini’s estate is a mess. His faulty estate planning provides a good lesson of the types of complications that can arise for clients who rely heavily on a will.

An aging population has forged new partnerships between wealth advisors and health care planners.