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What the New Tax Law Means for You, Your Family, and Your Business
The OBBBA passage offers clarity on how the tax landscape for individuals and businesses will look beginning January 1, 2026. Gain insight with our takeaways.
PODCAST
Get Educated in Minutes
A series of short, focused podcasts that offers insights from our experienced professionals to help you prepare for key life events
How Can I Use a Personal Trust To Help Prepare My Family for Inherited Wealth?
Some beneficiaries may not be ready to inherit family wealth. A beneficiary well-being trust can help heirs receive more than simply financial benefits.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
For individuals and families there are techniques and income tax planning tools available to help reduce federal and applicable state individual income taxes.
Host: Thomas Kelley
Paying or Deferring Estate Taxes Attributed to Business Assets
Listen as Lisa Ligas explains the financing options for paying estate taxes if a decedent’s estate includes a significant and illiquid business asset.
Host: Lisa Ligas
Are You Prepared for Potential Tax Law Changes?
The expiration of some TCJA provisions are set to expire at the end of the year. Alvina Lo explains your options for how to prepare for these tax law changes.
A New Year's Resolution for a Healthy Wealth Plan
When making resolutions for personal improvement, don’t forget your financial health. Set yourself up for success by ensuring your wealth plan is in order.
Benefits of a Freeze Partnership
A freeze partnership can be beneficial for real estate investors or developers who are thinking about a wealth plan for commercial property.
Host: Matthew Lee
The Election and the Future of Tax Reform: What It May Mean For You
What impact may the presidential election have on tax planning and potential tax reform talks heading into 2025 and beyond?
Host: Joshua Landsman
Four Ways to Use Charitable Giving to Engage Your Family in Estate Planning
Learn how to use charitable giving as a way to engage your family in the estate planning process
Host: Alexa Broida
What Should Be Considered When Selecting a Trustee?
Learn about the important considerations when selecting a trustee as part of your estate plan.
Host: Shannon Howell
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
Learn about this type of trust used to hold life insurance policies to provide a source of liquidity for estate taxes.
Host: Dolly Donnelly
Changing a Trust's Location (Situs)
Learn why where you locate your personal trust can have different financial and tax benefits.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Using the College Planning Process to Springboard Messages About Values and Financial Literacy
Learn how the college planning process can springboard messages about values and financial literacy with your children.
Empowering the Family Through Wealth Education
Family wealth education can empower the next generation to manage their inheritance and continue the family’s legacy. Learn more.
Host: Allison Pierce
Understanding State Residency Rules for Income Tax Purposes
If you live in more than one state, understanding state residency rules can help you manage your state income taxes. Learn more.
Host: Thomas Kelley
New circumstances in your life may call for changing an irrevocable trust. Learn how families may be able to modify a trust.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Naming a Trust as Beneficiary of a Retirement Plan
Naming a trust as beneficiary of your retirement plan could be a prudent course of action for certain retirees. Learn more.
Host: Matthew Mancini
Should parents consider differentiated inheritances for children? A podcast discussion of fair versus equal.
SECURE Act 2.0: What the New Law May Mean For You
The new SECURE Act 2.0, passed into law last month, could affect the way you think about your retirement plans. Learn more.
Managing Emotions During Financial Uncertainty
During times of financial uncertainty, some people may allow emotions, rather than logic and reason, drive their business decisions. But emotional decision-making, mired in personal bias, can derail even the best-laid plans. Learn how to keep emotions in check when faced with high stakes financial choices.
Trust Planning for Business Owners
Business owners may find that placing their private business interests into a trust can be an advantageous estate planning technique. However, after successfully leading their companies for many years, they may be reluctant to turn over control of their most prized asset.
Host: Lisa Ligas
Many people may require some sort of long-term care as they age. These services can be expensive and may impede cashflow, even for those who can afford it. In case the need arises for you or your loved ones in the future, it is important to be financially prepared.
Host: Dolly Donnelly
Overcoming Wealth Planning Procrastination
When it comes to wealth planning, putting off until tomorrow what you can (and should) do today may lead to unwanted consequences down the road. For maximum peace of mind, it’s important that your plans are up to date with your current life and business situations.
Host: Andrew Horwitz
The Fork in the Education Funding Road: 529 Plans Versus Roth IRAs
For those interested in tax-smart ways to pay for college, both 529 plans and Roth IRAs may be worth considering. But how do you decide which savings plan would be most beneficial for your family?
Optimizing Your State and Local Tax (SALT) Deductions
Ever since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed in 2017, certain taxpayers have felt the pain of limited SALT deductions on their federal tax returns. While this limit is set to expire at the end of 2025, there are a few ways to optimize the deduction today.
Host: Thomas Kelley
New Year’s Resolutions for your Wealth Plan
Many people start off the year with a list of New Year’s resolutions, usually centered around health and personal improvement. This year, however, it may be wise to make an extra resolution to get your financial health in shape.
A Well-Formulated Gifting Strategy Can Be Crucial to a Successful Wealth Plan
Gifting assets can help those in need while also providing the donor with potential tax benefits. In fact, a well-planned gifting strategy can reduce certain estate taxes, leaving your beneficiaries with a potentially larger inheritance upon your death.
Host: Matthew Lee
Talking to Your Children About the Family Wealth
Wealthy parents avoid discussing family wealth with their children. It is important to have these conversations no matter what their ages. Listen to our podcast to learn more.
Host: Libby Turner
Sustaining Wealth Over a Lifetime: Advice for the Next Generation
Regardless of when you receive an inheritance or earn your income, sustaining wealth over your lifetime for the next generation takes deliberate planning.
Asset Protection Planning with Personal Trusts
Asset protection planning is an important part of financial and estate planning. Certain personal trusts can be used to help safeguard your assets from future creditors and frivolous lawsuits, while other trust structures can be used to help protect your wealth for future generations.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Retaining Control with a Delaware Directed Trust
If you wish to retain more control over the assets you place in trust, a Delaware directed trust is one possible solution. The state’s distinctive trust law allows you to create a personal trust where you—or advisers named by you—direct the trustee’s actions.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Your Legacy: Planning for the End of Life
Planning for the end of life is one of the most considerate things you can do for your family. Think of the multitude of accounts and assets you have accumulated over your life, including your digital assets. How difficult would it be for your loved ones to locate and organize everything without your help?
Planning for Fine Art as an Asset of Your Estate
Whether you are acquiring a work of art for its aesthetic qualities or for investment purposes, holding fine art in your estate presents both obligations and opportunities for the educated collector.
Using a DING Trust to Reduce State Income Tax
Those who live in a high-tax state could benefit from the use of a Delaware incomplete-gift non-grantor (DING) trust. It’s an attractive technique that may reduce or potentially eliminate state income taxes on capital gains occurring inside the trust.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Tax-Smart Alternatives to the ‘Stretch IRA’ strategy
The SECURE Act, which went into effect in 2020, severely curtailed the “stretch IRA” as an estate planning strategy. Previously, a beneficiary could extend IRA distributions over his or her lifetime. Now, an heir must withdraw all assets within 10 years of inheriting the account, which can present major tax consequences.
How to Select the Right Trustee for Your Trust
When creating a trust, the first decision is likely to be the most important one—whom should you name as the trustee? Should it be a friend, family member, spouse, or a corporate trustee? The decision-making process involves several considerations to find the best fit.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Overcoming the Grief Connected to the Sale of a Family Business
For many family business owners, the company they developed and grew over the years has shaped their identities, given them purpose, and may have kept their families together. Following the sale of a family business, some may feel a sense of loss and perhaps even regret, unsure about what to do next.
Planning for the Distribution of Your Personal Property
One common mistake people make when creating their estate plans is not to spell out the fate of their personal property—things such as jewelry, cars, collectibles, and artwork. Without a clear plan, family controversy may arise over items that have great sentimental or monetary value.
Host: Melissa Fricke
Using a Letter of Intent to Convey Important Information When Your Family Needs it the Most
A letter of intent is an easy way to share important information about your estate plan. It allows you to convey, in your own words, your hopes and wishes for your beneficiaries, the reasons why you created the plan you have, and how you would like to see the plan administered to accomplish your goals.
Host: Andrew Horwitz
How to Make Your Charitable Giving More Tax Efficient
Thanks to December’s stimulus package, some of the charitable giving tax benefits, originally enacted through the CARES Act, have been extended through 2021. Discover a few easy ways to make your giving more tax efficient, and how future tax increases may work to a donor’s advantage.
Minimize the Impact of the Kiddie Tax with Proper Planning
When the “kiddie tax” became law in 1986, the IRS began taxing a child’s unearned income at the parent’s tax rate rather than at the child’s far lower rate. Although the kiddie tax rules can lead to harsh consequences for many families, with proper planning they may create tax-saving opportunities for higher-income taxpayers.
Income Tax and Financial Planning Considerations in Mortgage Financing
Before you decide how much to borrow for your next home purchase, consider the role a mortgage can play in your overall wealth plan. With strategic mortgage financing, you could enjoy certain tax benefits or leverage investment opportunities that you would otherwise miss.
Why You May Need a Family Business Employment Policy
If your business employs family members, or you are thinking about hiring relatives for the first time, consider the benefits of a family business employment policy. Not only can a well-thought-out policy lead to greater family harmony, but it can set up your employees—and your business—for greater success as well.
Host: Marguerite Weese
The Importance of Wealth Planning Before Selling Your Business
When you start to think about selling your business and retiring, it’s important for you to know what your company is worth. However, the current market value may be different from what you will need to maintain your desired lifestyle and meet your retirement goals over the long term.
Host: Bradley Crockett
Using Strategic Financing to Help Work Toward Achieving Your Wealth Transfer Goals
Customized financing solutions can play a significant role in your wealth plan. In fact, an estate or succession plan that includes appropriate borrowing strategies can help preserve a family’s legacy and enable a more efficient wealth transfer from one generation to the next.
Host: Wilmington Trust
Minimizing State Income Tax Using Trusts
Many people are familiar with personal trusts because they are common estate planning vehicles. However, a lesser known fact is they may also be used to minimize state income tax liabilities. By holding your wealth inside a trust, you may limit the ability of your home state to tax the trust’s income.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Using a SLAT as a Planning Strategy Offers Many Potential Benefits
Discover how the spousal lifetime access trust or SLAT may be a strategy to use some or all of your lifetime gift exemption, potentially benefit your spouse and others, help protect the assets from creditors, and possibly have indirect access to the trust if you need it.
Host: Andrew Horwitz
Over this past year, many families have grappled with topics from the pandemic to politics, perhaps disrupting family harmony. Discover the importance of establishing your family’s purpose and how to supplement it with the development and use of a family motto.
Essential Estate Planning Considerations for Blended Families
For blended families, complex estate planning issues often arise as you try to balance the needs of your current spouse with those of your children. It is important to have proper documents in place if you want control over how your assets will be distributed upon your death.
Host: Nicole Pursley
Using an LLC to Help Manage Your Family’s Wealth
High-net-worth families can set up a limited liability company (LLC) to protect their personal assets from creditors or judgements against the members. Learn the five benefits of using an LLC structure for your family’s assets and how your family can become an LLC.
Business Transition Planning for Small Business Owners
Too often, business transition is the last thing small business owners plan for. However, planning for an inevitable ownership change is simply good business—and it starts years before the enterprise changes hands.
Host: John Campbell
Managing the Tax Basis of the Assets in Your Trust Can Reduce Income Taxes
Rather than create a family trust and forget about it, you can potentially reduce your income tax liability by proactively managing the tax basis of the assets in your trust.
Host: Thomas Kelley
Mentorship May Increase Next Gen Engagement in the Family Business
Effective mentorship programs can help engage younger generations in your family business, and may help families overcome some of the challenges associated with inter-generational succession.
Host: Libby Turner
Revocable Trusts May Play a Role in Your Estate Plan
When contemplating your estate plan, you may wonder whether you should have a revocable trust, also known as a living trust, in addition to your will. In this podcast, hear the four key benefits of this essential estate planning tool to help decide if it’s right for you.
Life Insurance May Provide Stability in an Uncertain Environment
Many don’t think about life insurance within the context of their overall estate plans. In this podcast, learn the top five ways life insurance can play a role in estate planning, and maybe bring a bit more stability into an uncertain environment.
Host: Jessica Male
The Timely Benefits of a Health Savings Account
Wealth Planner Matthew Mancini discusses the key benefits of health savings accounts, explaining how they not only help to prepare families for unexpected medical expenses, but can offer significant tax incentives as well.
Host: Matthew Mancini
The Importance of Asset Titling in Estate Planning
National Director of Wealth Strategies Matthew Lee discusses the importance of titling assets in estate planning, and a few of the important ways asset titling can impact your planning.
Host: Matthew Lee
Tax Strategies for Selling Qualified Small Business Stock
National Director of Wealth Strategies Drew Horwitz discusses Qualified Small Business Stock, how it works, and how it may create effective tax strategies for small business investors and owners.
The Importance of Executor Selection for Estate Settlement: Part Two
August 11, 2020—When updating your estate planning documents, one of the most important considerations is who you will name as the executor of your estate. What are they key factors you should consider when selecting and executor for your estate? In part one of this two-part podcast, National Director of Trust and Estate Settlement Services Jonathan Fitzgerald discusses the factors to consider when making this important decision, and how the wrong selection can lead to undue stress on your family during a difficult time, costly litigation, family infighting, or all of the above.
The Importance of Executor Selection for Estate Settlement: Part One
August 4, 2020—When updating your estate planning documents, one of the most important considerations is who you will name as the executor of your estate. What are they key factors you should consider when selecting and executor for your estate? National Director of Trust and Estate Settlement Services Jonathan Fitzgerald discusses the factors to consider when making this important decision, and how the wrong selection can lead to undue stress on your family during a difficult time, costly litigation, family infighting, or all of the above.
The Importance of Family Communication
Creating strong family communication practices is an important component of legacy planning, and even more important during challenging times. Why is family communication imperative to family resiliency and what can be done to improve your family’s communication process? Family Legacy Coordinator Libby Turner shares some insights.
Host: Libby Turner
Delaware Trusts—How to Make Them Work for You
With today’s historically high gift and estate tax exemptions, and historically low interest rates, the use of personal trusts can be particularly beneficial in this favorable wealth planning environment. Using Delaware trusts can add even more advantages. Learn more in this podcast.
Host: Jeffrey Wolken
Estate Tax Mitigation Strategies
By drastically increasing the federal estate and gift tax exemption, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a significant estate tax mitigation opportunity for high-net-worth individuals and families. National Director of Wealth Strategies Blair Talty discusses how these strategies have become even more powerful due to COVID-19.
Host: Blair Talty
Maximizing Your Itemized Deductions
While the current volatile market conditions and overall economic landscape may have your investment and business decisions top of mind, an important area of planning that can be deployed during this time is tax planning. Director of Income Tax Planning Tom Kelley discusses ways to position your current expenses and deductions with tax elections to reduce your income taxes, maximizing your itemized deductions.
Host: Thomas Kelley
Tax-Loss Harvesting and Savings Opportunities
During this challenging environment, how do you use the losses in your portfolio to your advantage? Director of Income Tax Planning, Tom Kelley, discusses how to turn a market loss into a gain through tax-loss harvesting.
Host: Thomas Kelley
Roth IRA Conversion for High Earners
What strategies can high earners with retirement investments that are currently undervalued, or who expect a low-income year, take advantage of? National Director of Advanced Financial Planning, Brad Crockett, discusses how this may be an opportune time to convert assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA for long-term tax saving benefits.
Host: Bradley Crockett
Is There a Planning Silver Lining to This Economic Downturn?
In this podcast, Wilmington Trust’s Chief Wealth Strategist Alvina Lo discusses how using a grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) as an estate planning tool may be beneficial in our current economic climate.
Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies
National Director of Family Legacy Planning, Marguerite Weese, provides some valuable guidance as you consider the importance of keeping your key documents up to date, particularly during these turbulent times.
Host: Marguerite Weese
This podcast is for general information only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the sale of any financial product, service or other professional advice. The information in this podcast has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions, estimates and projections expressed are subject to change without notice.
Wilmington Trust is not authorized to and does not provide legal or accounting advice. Wilmington Trust does not provide tax advice, except where we have agreed to provide tax preparation services to you. Our advice and recommendations provided to you are illustrative only and subject to the opinions and advice of your own attorney, tax advisor, or other professional advisor.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss. There is no assurance that any investment, financial or estate planning strategy will be successful. Past performance cannot guarantee future results. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or a loss.
Investment products are not insured by the FDIC or any other governmental agency, are not deposits of or other obligations of or guaranteed by Wilmington Trust, M&T Bank, or any other bank or entity, and are subject to risks, including a possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Note that a few states, including Delaware, have special trust advantages that may not be available under the laws of your state of residence, including asset protection trusts and directed trusts. Wilmington Trust Emerald Family Office & Advisory is a service mark and refers to wealth planning, family office, specialized transaction and other services provided by Wilmington Trust, N.A., a member of the M&T family.
Wilmington Trust Emerald Family Office & Advisory™ is a registered trademark and refers to wealth planning, family office and advisory services provided by Wilmington Trust, N.A., a member of the M&T family. Wilmington Family Office is a service mark for an offering of family office and advisory services provided by Wilmington Trust, N.A.
This podcast is for general information only and is not intended as an offer or solicitation for the sale of any financial product, service or other professional advice. The information in this podcast has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed. The opinions, estimates and projections expressed are subject to change without notice.
Wilmington Trust is not authorized to and does not provide legal, accounting, or tax advice. Our advice and recommendations provided to you are illustrative only and subject to the opinions and advice of your own attorney, tax advisor, or other professional advisor.
Diversification does not ensure a profit or guarantee against a loss. There is no assurance that any investment, financial or estate planning strategy will be successful. Past performance cannot guarantee future results. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or a loss.
Investment products are not insured by the FDIC or any other governmental agency, are not deposits of or other obligations of or guaranteed by Wilmington Trust, M&T Bank, or any other bank or entity, and are subject to risks, including a possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Note that a few states, including Delaware, have special trust advantages that may not be available under the laws of your state of residence, including asset protection trusts and directed trusts.