Ashley Flotte’s Legal Blog

As the year draws to a close, most of us start thinking about our ‘New Year’s Resolutions.’ Year after year, it seems the most popular choices include resolving to lose weight, get organized, spend more time with family, quit smoking/drinking, or donate time to charity. At Smith & Garg, we wish you and your families [...]

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                As we approach the close of 2008, it’s important to recall the wealth transfer tax changes that are heading our way in the new year. Changes in the amounts that may be transferred free of tax in 2009 are being increased on both the federal estate tax and gift tax fronts.
                The Economic [...]

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           The thought of discussing lifetime gifting with your estate planning attorney may seem counterintuitive. After all, one typically visits their estate planning attorney to discuss matters such as distributing assets at death or planning for incapacity. Gifting, however, often serves a direct role in planning your estate, particularly when it comes to wealth transfer [...]

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You may have heard of a “QPRT” (often pronounced “cue-pert”) in the context of estate planning, but not fully understood its meaning. Quite simply, QPRT stands for “Qualified Personal Residence Trust,” and is a planning tool utilized for the lifetime gifting of a personal residence for gift tax planning purposes.
Just as with a GRAT [...]

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GRATs are increasingly popular among those wishing to implement lifetime gifting strategies. GRATS, or Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, are vehicles designed to minimize gift tax liability in the transfer of estate assets to future generations. To initiate a GRAT, a trust is created that will remain in existence for a certain period of time, with a [...]

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