In this episode of Worth It, Proskauer associates Jacob Wonn and Nathalie Stenmark discuss qualified personal residence trusts (also known as “QPRTs”), how they work, what the potential benefits are and why clients might consider this particular estate planning technique. With the current rising interest rate environment, there has been a renewed interest in QPRTs, so be sure to tune in!

Heirs of owners of cryptocurrencies have concerns that they will not be able to gain access to and collect cryptocurrencies after the death of the owner. In this episode of Worth It, partner Hank J. Leibowitz and associate James Muller describe the process that they went through in order to collect and liquidate the account of a decedent owning several cryptocurrencies held in a Coinbase account.

In this episode of Worth It, Proskauer associates Jacob Wonn and James Muller discuss the idea of "decanting" irrevocable trusts and what that means for clients. Clients who have assets that might pass outright to their descendants may consider decanting to extend the term of the trust and provide additional management benefits and creditor protection to their descendants. So be sure to tune in and see why clients may consider decanting trusts that they have already formed.

In this episode of Worth It, Proskauer Associate Dan Hatten and Senior Counsel Nathaniel Birdsall discuss why clients should strongly consider planning with lifetime trusts for their children, grandchildren and more remote descendants. 

In this episode of Worth It, Proskauer partner Stephanie Heilborn and associate Dan Hatten discuss the standard estate planning documents every client needs, what those documents do, and why those documents are important to have in place. 

In this episode of Worth It, Proskauer partner and head of the firm's Private Client Services Group David Pratt and associate Daniel W. Hatten discuss the recent bills introduced in Congress which could dramatically alter federal transfer taxes, how those changes could affect clients, and what steps clients can take in the interim. 

In this episode of Worth It, associate Daniel W. Hatten, and senior counsel Vanessa Maczko discuss options for clients who are seeking to use their remaining federal lifetime gift tax exemption without the “pain” generally associated with giving up assets.  To that end, we will talk about options for gifting personal residences and ways to use outstanding loans to make gifts. Tune in as Dan and Vanessa explain in more detail some options for "pain-free" gifting. 

In this episode of Worth It, associate Daniel W. Hatten, and partner Andrew M. Katzenstein, discuss whether clients should consider creating spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs) to use their federal lifetime gift tax exemption before the end of 2020.  Tune in as Dan and Andy describe in more detail what a SLAT is, why it is particularly beneficial this year and why it may be appropriate for clients to create SLATs. 

In this episode of Worth It, associate Daniel W. Hatten, and partner, Lindsay A. Rehns, will discuss whether clients should use their federal lifetime gift tax exemption before the end of 2020.  As part of this podcast discussion, Dan and Lindsay will explain some details about the lifetime gift tax exemption, highlight some of the potential tax consequences of the upcoming election and ultimately explain why now is in fact a great time to use the remainder of one's lifetime gift tax exemption.

With the election only a couple of months away and a possibility that some established estate planning techniques may be unavailable in the future, creating a grantor retained annuity trust while that technique is still available (commonly referred to as a "GRAT") is a relatively simple way to transfer property to your children at virtually no gift tax cost. In order for a GRAT to be successful, your retained annuity from the GRAT must increase in value greater than a hurdle rate. The hurdle rate is linked to the market yield on U.S. government-issued debt, which is largely determined by the Federal Reserve's monetary policy. The hurdle rate for September 2020 and October 2020 has dropped to 0.4%. This all-time low interest rate combined with the current market environment has created a significant opportunity to transfer wealth with minimal gift tax cost by creating a GRAT. In this episode of Worth It, Hank J. Leibowitz and Daniel W. Hatten discuss GRATs in more detail and discuss why now is a good time for clients to create a GRAT.