The Tax Lawyer Blog: Topical thinking from the lawyers at Moskowitz, LLP

Revocable Living Trusts, Part III: Funding Your Revocable Living Trust

Posted on August 22, 2019August 26, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation, Uncategorized

Other Posts in this Series Part I: The Elements of a Revocable Living Trust Part II: Why Set Up a Revocable Living Trust? A revocable living trust can provide many benefits, but not if you don’t fund it. In our previous post, we explained how a revocable living trust is...

Revocable Living Trusts, Part II: Why Set Up a Revocable Living Trust?

Posted on August 20, 2019August 26, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation

Other Posts in this Series Part I: The Elements of a Revocable Living Trust Part III: Funding Your Revocable Living Trust Revocable living trusts provide numerous benefits for California residents. This estate planning tool, which provides for a faster, less expensive, and more private estate administration, should be considered by...

Revocable Living Trusts, Part I: The Elements of a Revocable Living Trust

Posted on August 15, 2019August 26, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation

Other Posts in this Series Part II: Why Set Up a Revocable Living Trust? Part III: Funding Your Revocable Living Trust Revocable living trusts provide multiple benefits for those who utilize them properly – this begins with an understanding of how these trusts work and what they are designed to...

Your Default Estate Plan, Part II

Posted on August 13, 2019August 5, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation

You can designate who inherits from you, or you can let intestate succession laws decide for you. Holocaust survivor and New York real estate developer Roman Blum apparently left no instructions for the distribution of his $40 million fortune when he passed away in 2012. The first will produced was...

Your Default Estate Plan, Part I

Posted on August 7, 2019August 26, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation

If you don’t prepare your estate plan, the law has provisions in place to handle the management of your estate and the guardianship of your children. You might not like it, though. Our July 9, 2019 post “Don’t Delay Your Estate Plan!” highlighted the colossal mess that Prince Roger Nelson...

Artificial Intelligence Used to Combat Tax Evasion

Posted on August 5, 2019August 2, 2019 by moskowitz Posted in Tax Planning & Compliance

The IRS’ efforts to identify abusive tax schemes is now being bolstered by the use of AI. Most people don’t realize the extent to which artificial intelligence (AI) is utilized in our daily lives. Even those of us without Alexa devices and “Smart Homes” are using AI – in our...

Keeping Your Estate Plan Current

Posted on July 16, 2019June 24, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation

Setting up an estate plan isn’t enough – remember to review and update it periodically to ensure that it consistently reflects your wishes. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that sent a clear message how important it is to keep your estate plan up to date. The...

The Pros and Cons of Health Savings Accounts

Posted on July 11, 2019June 24, 2019 by moskowitz Posted in Tax Planning & Compliance

A Health Savings Account (HSA) provide tax savings and flexibility for individuals with high-deductible health plans, but they are not without their challenges. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) were introduced to replace medical savings accounts as part of the Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. At the end...

Don’t Delay Your Estate Plan!

Posted on July 9, 2019June 24, 2019 by Raquel Lazar-Paley Posted in Estate Planning & Taxation

Proper estate planning can save your heirs the hassle and expense of probate and conservatorships, estate taxes, and contested court proceedings. Just weeks after Prince Roger Nelson’s death in 2016, dozens of people filed petitions in the Carver County District Court in Minnesota, claiming a piece of the music icon’s...

What Constitutes “Willful” Failure to File An FBAR?

Posted on July 2, 2019June 11, 2019 by moskowitz Posted in International Taxation, Tax: Audits, Litigation & Collection

The willful failure to file an FBAR results in higher tax penalties than the nonwillful failure to do so. But how does the IRS determine that your failure to act was “willful”? The U.S. Government’s stringent foreign bank account reporting requirements are accompanied by horribly disproportionate penalties for failure to...

Tax Lawyer Blog

How can we help you today?