BDIT lets you give away property without losing control BY THEUS LAW OFFICES By temporarily doubling the gift and estate tax exemption, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) opened a window of opportunity for affluent families to transfer assets tax-free. To take advantage of the higher exemption amount, many families that own businesses or other [...]Continue reading

Parental priorities: How to choose a tutor for your child BY THEUS LAW OFFICES If you have minor children, arguably the most important estate planning decision you need to make is choosing a tutor (referred to as a "guardian" outside Louisiana) for them should the unthinkable occur. If you haven’t yet made this decision, formalize your [...]Continue reading

IRS confirms large gifts now won’t hurt post-2025 estates BY THEUS LAW OFFICES The IRS has issued final regulations that should provide comfort to taxpayers interested in making large gifts under the current gift and estate tax regime. The final regs generally adopt, with some revisions, proposed regs that the IRS released in November 2018. The [...]Continue reading

Qualified Opportunity Funds: A new weapon in the estate planning arsenal BY THEUS LAW OFFICES The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a new program to encourage investment in economically distressed areas through generous tax incentives. The Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program relies on investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) — funds that can provide wealthy [...]Continue reading

Nondeductible IRA contributions require careful tracking BY THEUS LAW OFFICES If, like many people, your traditional IRA holds a mixture of deductible (after-tax) and nondeductible (pretax) contributions, it’s important to track your contributions carefully to avoid double taxation of distributions. Why? Because the IRS treats distributions as a blend of pretax and after-tax dollars. If you [...]Continue reading

What Happens After a Grant of Asylum? BY THEUS LAW OFFICES After receiving your final approval of asylum, you are now legally allowed to live in the U.S., seek U.S. employment, and travel freely with the proper documentation in and out of the U.S. As time passes, you will be able to secure greater rights. As [...]Continue reading

Use nongrantor trusts to bypass the SALT deduction limit BY THEUS LAW OFFICES If you reside in a high-tax state, you may want to consider using nongrantor trusts to soften the blow of the $10,000 federal limit on state and local tax (SALT) deductions. The limit can significantly reduce itemized deductions if your state income and [...]Continue reading