Real Estate Developers May Be Able to Avoid Gift Taxes When Passing On Developer Units

In February 2016, two Central Park condos owned by then-candidate Donald Trump had an estimated market value of $790,000 and $800,000. In April 2016, Trump sold these condos to his son, Eric Trump, for pennies on the dollar ($350,000 each, to be exact). For most people, this family-friendly sweetheart deal would typically incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in gift taxes. Not so for Donald Trump. Why? Because he was a real estate developer. A real estate owner who sells a piece of property for less than it’s estimated worth typically has to pay gift tax on the difference between the sale...

25 August

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Time is Running Out for Maximizing the Effectiveness of Family Limited Partnerships in Your Estate Plan

Posted by Bobby Feisee

in Bobby's Blog

Establishing a family limited partnership can be helpful in business succession planning, business continuity plans, and as a component of your estate plan. It is especially helpful if you own real estate, a family business, and concentrated positions of publicly traded stock. However, the IRS is starting to scrutinize these partnerships and has proposed a new regulation, specifically a revised versionof Section 2704 that could have a dramatic impact on your estate planning by eliminating valuation discounts. If you are looking to minimize your future estate tax this is critical and time is of the essence. Once the revised Section 2704...

06 November

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Benefits of an LLC for Real Estate Investments

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

Investing in real estate can be a very good strategy for creating a sustainable income stream for your estate plan. Though, real estate investments also creates inherent liabilities. Whether you invest in homes or apartments, areas such as laundry rooms or staircases, they all carry great risk of exposure. Even tenants themselves carry the risk of exposing you, the owner, to liability from potential environmental-contamination claims, fire-related claims, slip-and-fall claims and other injury claims. This is why steps should be taken to protect yourself, such as forming a Limited Liability Company (i.e. LLC). An LLC can be a great form...

27 April

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Costs and Benefits of Establishing a Self-Directed IRA

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

I published an earlier article discussing an increasingly popular alternative investment structure: the “self-directed” IRA. The self-direct IRA seems to be growing in popularity for many reasons. First and foremost, many investors are seeking diversification. They may not be inclined to put all of their retirement funds into traditional investment structures. Plus, it is important to keep in mind that you don’t have to give up your other investments to establish a self-directed IRA. It is perfectly fine to only use a portion of your retirement assets to fund a self-directed IRA. This is a good idea and one that...

25 April

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Alternative Investment Option to Consider – The “Self-Directed” IRA

Posted by KarenLewis

in Bobby's Blog

Many Americans invest retirement funds into publicly-traded assets such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds and so forth. This isn’t a surprise since the large investment institutions encourage people to invest in these types of assets and don’t do much advertising about unconventional ways in which you can use your retirement funds. You may not realize that the laws governing IRAs (i.e. Independent Retirement Accounts) allows virtually unlimited investment flexibility. This is where "self-directed IRAs" come in. Using “self-directed” IRAs has become extremely popular in recent years. The purpose of these self-directed accounts is allowing an investor to invest some (or all)...