On Saturday, August 25, 2012, I joined several other contributors to the Real Estate Radio Hour at the Minnesota State Fair for a discussion with Co-Host Andy Prasky regarding “hot trends” in our respective industries. Given the present lack of …

Real Estate Radio Hour Live at the Minnesota State Fair – August 25, 2012 Read more »

[NOTE: this post originally appeared on The Vanilla Shell on December 31, 2010]On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the “Act”) into law.  Much has been written  about …

Why the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 Matters to Real Estate Owners Read more »

I wrote recently about how useful limited liability companies (LLCs) can be as a planning device for a variety of business transactions.  Another common use for LLCs falls into the estate planning area; namely, the use of LLCs (and also family …

One Step Forward: Ninth Circuit Holds that Step Transaction Doctrine Does Not Apply in the Formation of an LLC or FLP Read more »

Life insurance can be a very valuable planning tool for business owners.   Some employers purchase so-called “key person” life insurance  for key executives and/or other personnel who would be difficult to replace.  Additionally, amongst co-owners, life insurance can be used to …

Tax Issues With Employer-Owned Life Insurance Contracts Read more »

A common estate planning technique which attorneys use is the creation of an irrevocable life insurance trust, or “ILIT”.  The purpose of an ILIT is to minimize the impact which life insurance proceeds can have in terms of estate tax.  …

Estate Planning with Life Insurance Policies: Are Your Policies Worth Keeping? Read more »