Planning for Special Needs Trusts

Special needs trusts can provided additional resources for disabled minors and adults.  Special care has to be taken in planning for these trusts.  The recent Estate of Mendard, No. 14-18-00434-CV (Tex. App. — Houston [14th Dist.] 2019) provides an example.  It involves a special needs trust that ended up owning a house that the disabled beneficiary’s…

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Common Estate Planning Goals

Common Estate Planning Goals Estate planning is about you, the person who is alive and in control of property, and those who will eventually control and/or receive your property.  It is about your wishes and what will happen in the future. Having worked with clients to develop estate plans, there are some common basic goals…

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IRS Can Collect from Property Purchased in Corporation

Can a taxpayer put property beyond the IRS’s reach by purchasing the property in the name of a corporation or a third party?  The answer is typically “no.”  The recent Arlin Geophysical Co. v. United States, No. 2:08-cv-00414-DN-EJF (C.D. Utah 2018) provides an example. Facts & Procedural History The court case involves an individual who……

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IRS Audits for Car & Truck Expenses, What You Need to Know

There are a number of issues that the IRS frequently examines on audit.  Car and truck expenses are high on that list.  The applicable rules and court cases must be reviewed before presenting records to the IRS to substantiate car and truck expenses.  This article examines several of these rules and court cases. Deductible Car &……

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