Blog - "Altman Speaks"

Outdated Estate Plans: Even The Rich and Famous Are Guilty

As an estate planning attorney, I make every effort to remind my clients to keep their estate plans current. My general rule of thumb is to have your estate plan reviewed every four years, or, any time there is a significant life change (i.e. divorce, remarriage, change in intended beneficiary, etc.) For this reason, it’s always particularly […]

IRS Proposes Requiring EIN Holders to Update Their Information Periodically

The Internal Revenue Service has proposed new rules that would require taxpayers who obtain employer identification numbers to keep their information up-to-date with the IRS. Currently, many EINs are issued to nominees whose authority to represent the applicant expires sometime after the EIN is issued. Under the proposed rules, the EIN applicant would be required […]

Man Adopts His 42 Year Old Girlfriend as His Daughter and Heir

Facing a 2010 manslaughter charge that could wind him up in jail for 30 years, millionaire business tycoon, John Goodman, made headlines this year for legally adopting his girlfriend, Heather Hutchins, as his daughter in an effort to include her in his family trust (originally set up years ago for his two minor children). Such a move […]

The REAL March Madness!

According to the College Savings Plans of Maryland, the average cost of attending an in-state four-year public college beginning 2013 will be approximately $41,763 per year; for a four-year private/out-of state college, experts note that tuition has increased as much as 105% over the past 10 years. Over the last decade, published tuition and fees […]

Technology Allows Caretakers to Keep Tabs on Aging Family Members

Leaving elderly or disabled loved ones alone for any amount of time can be a nerve-wrecking ordeal. Will they fall? Will they eat? Will they remember to take their medication? Is it time to bring someone in to help or find an assisted living facility? These are just a handful of the questions plaguing caretakers […]

Death, Taxes, and Uncertainty

We all know Ben Franklin’s quote about the certainty of death and taxes, but for at least one family in Connecticut, the death taxes were not certain enough. In May of 2011, the Connecticut legislature passed a law lowering the amount of estate tax that a Connecticut estate would owe the state from $3.5 to […]

Back to Square One: Court of Appeals Dismisses Case for Lack of Jurisdiction

It is not rare that our office is contacted by individuals looking for guidance on their rights as a beneficiary to a trust. Similarly, we often have beneficiaries requesting a variety of information from our clients who are trustees. We often advise our clients that transparency is always the best course of action. Furthermore, it […]

Who's On First?

The government’s handling of Hal Steinbrenner’s tax refund was about as smooth as Abbot explaining to Costello the lineup for the St. Louis Wolves. In 2009, Hal Steinbrenner, son of George Steinbrenner and co-owner of the New York Yankees, filed an amended 2001 tax return in which he sought a $670,000 tax refund because the […]

Discretion is the Better Part of Valour

In the great majority of our trusts, you will see the terminology “as the Trustees shall deem advisable, in their sole and absolute discretion.” These words reference the power granted to Trustees to make distributions to beneficiaries based on their sole and absolute discretion. While this may seem restrictive, in that it creates a barrier […]

Proposed 2013 Budget Calls for Comprehensive Tax Reform

The President’s proposed budget for 2013, issued this week, would permanently restore the estate tax rates to those that were in effect in 2009 and restrict some popular strategies used to shift assets to future generations. Below is a break down of the proposed estate and gift tax changes: Restoration of 2009 levels. The estate, generation-skipping […]

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