IRAs can be an important part of estate planning, especially for savvy investors and business owners. But be careful – mixing your IRA and your business interests too closely can cause big tax problems. The IRS can “revoke” an IRA, and deny you all its tax benefits, if you use the funds for certain improper purposes. This rule applies not only to you, but also to actions by your family members and any business or trust

If you’re donating assets to a charity, don’t scrimp when it comes to an appraisal and don’t try to file the tax forms yourself. That’s the lesson of a recent case from the U.S. Tax Court. The case involved Joe Mohamed, an extremely successful real estate investor in Sacramento, California. Joe donated real estate he valued at $18.5 million to a charitable trust. Because Joe was a qualified appraiser, he valued the properties himself. He also

If you or someone you know has an older estate plan that doesn’t carefully take into consideration the role of stepchildren, it’s a good idea to have it reviewed. If you have stepchildren – or if your children have stepchildren – it’s critical to make clear whether they’re included in your plans. Take the case of Bill and Pat Clairmont. This North Dakota couple had a daughter, Cindy; a son-in-law, Greg; and several grandchildren including a

Same-sex couples should review their estate plans in light of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Supreme Court said that the federal law, which refused to recognize same-sex marriages with regard to federal taxes and benefits, was unconstitutional. The law had made estate planning especially difficult for same-sex couples, because they couldn’t take advantage of techniques that were available to other married couples. For instance, under federal

Widows and widowers who are considering remarriage should be aware that a law recently passed by Congress could make a huge difference in how much of their assets they are able to leave to their heirs after taxes. In general, anyone who is considering remarriage later in life should talk to an estate planner first in order to avoid possible tax problems. But the new law gives added urgency to this advice. Typically, when a person