If you never return from your sailing trip around the globe or reemerge from the deep ocean depths on the submarine destined for the Titanic, will your family receive the death benefit proceeds from your life insurance policy? That answer, as well as the answer to many legal questions is, “that depends.” Life insurance policies have become common...

Before base jumping into the miasma of risk, the first thing you should do is make sure your estate plan, in its current iteration, meets your needs and has adapted to any challenging or changing family situation. A well-rounded estate plan is literally more of a life than (then) death plan.  In other words, your estate plan should incorporate...

A recent case brought to light the impact that a stock-purchase agreement and life insurance proceeds may – or may not - have on the valuation of a closely held company for estate tax purposes. In this case that caused a split between the 8th and 11th Circuits, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeal issued an opinion in June 2023, which will result in...

One never knows what corner the grim reaper lies behind. A final illness can often accelerate quickly and deprive a donor of adequate time to complete gifts for tax purposes that he intended to make. In a recent federal court case, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals (Estate of DeMuth v. Commissioner, 3d Cir. July 12, 2023) affirmed a Tax Court...

“A person doesn't know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on it.”  This anonymous quote is timely.  It is rumored that the Rhode Island Division of Taxation (“the Division”) is reviewing its procedures for determining whether a Rhode Islander has validly changed his domicile to another state.  Domicile is the permanent...

Owning your own business can be extremely demanding. From your customers to your employees, there’s hardly enough time in the day. While most entrepreneurs are consumed by the day-to-day challenges of running their businesses, they often neglect the critical task of planning for the future. A common misconception is that estate planning only...