Giving to Charity? Watch Out for These Tax Traps by Corliss Law Group Estate Planning Law Corporation
To give is divine. To err while giving is human.
For many donors eager to nail down tax deductions, contributing to charity can be as simple as writing a check. But tax laws often can be surprisingly tricky. While there are many tax-smart ways to donate, it can also be easy to make costly mistakes.
The mistakes run the gamut. Many thorny problems, for instance, stem from uncertainty over how to value gifts. Other donors stumble because they don't pay attention to the fine print on such long-cherished techniques as giving stock to charity. And still others trip over paperwork issues, such as getting proper acknowledgment for gifts on a timely basis.
Many generous donors "have learned their lessons the hard and expensive way," says Victoria Bjorklund, a charitable-giving consultant and a retired partner at the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP.
How can donors avoid these traps? It may help to keep in mind the following (seemingly) simple ideas—as well as a few common errors.
Formal Business Maintenance and Update Program by Corliss Law Group Estate Planning Law Corporation
Should the business be passed on to a family member or key employee? How do I minimize the tax consequences and protect the proceeds of any sale? In business, as in life, nothing ever stays the same. Change represents renewal and growth, but also stress and danger. Operating conditions, personnel concerns, organizational considerations and management methodologies all shift with distressing frequency. Industry and market conditions, customers, competition and state-of-the-art continuously evolve! Legal and compliance issues, which represent a critical danger, need frequent monitoring and reporting.
As with all of our planning, we offer you and your business a scheduled process to ensure the necessary updating and maintenance. Together, we will schedule a customized process for the immediate and long-term future.
Corliss, A Law Corporation, offers a simple solution to these business concerns. The Family Business Maintenance and Update Program helps entrepreneurs and family business owners stay on top of change — instead of being steamrolled by it. We offer periodic, usually annual, updates to the family business.
Who Really Needs an Estate Plan? By Corliss Law Group Estate Planning Law Corporation
The answer and the reasons are not what you probably think, mainly because there is a misconception by many that estate planning is about death, you know transferring property when we die. It does involve that, but it is much, much more.
A good estate plan helps you to organize your life around the things that are the most important to you. It is about protecting your assets, providing security for your family and helping you to accumulate wealth toward your retirement. It is about providing for your children when they are young and beyond, providing for you and your spouse during health, in retirement and during any years that you may need care. Those are things we all need, even if we don’t yet have a lot of property.
So the answer to the Question of “Who Really Needs An Estate Plan?” is Everyone!
Business Succession in Corliss Law Group Estate Planning Law Corporation
Exit Strategies and Implementation
What will ultimately become of your business? How will you transition out of it? Will you sell it? Pass it on? Simply retire? If you don't know the answer to these questions, we can help.
The ideal transition is the sale of the business for maximum value, with a minimal income tax burden. Even if the sale of the business is to beloved family members, value must be preserved, for you and for those you love.
Only one method ensures an ideal transition — creating the proper plan with an effective exit strategy.
Our Family Business Succession will help you and your business advisors implement that strategy. Even if you have not done the most comprehensive planning and maintenance, we can help you design an exit strategy that will provide you the maximum possible benefit. Our process will give you a seven-step plan to create, preserve and transition the value of your business.
We help you make the value of the business "all about the business" instead of "all about you."
Corliss, A Law Corporation, can help your business achieve various goals, including:
- Setting exit objectives
- Determining value/price
- Preserving, protecting and promoting the value
- Converting business value to cash
- Selling the business for a note
- Structuring contingency planning for the business
- Arranging non-compete agreements for owners or key managers leaving the business
- Drafting wealth preservation planning
