Asset Protection | Business Law | Tax Law -- Klueger & Stein, LLP » Newsletter

June 2014 – IRS Awards FBAR Penalty Equal to 150% of the Value of the Foreign Account

admin — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 17:09:06 +0000

Every U.S. citizen or resident alien is required to annually report any interest that he or she has in any foreign bank account or other financial instrument with a balance in excess of $10,000. The “Foreign Bank Account Report” (“FBAR”) must be filed by June 30 for foreign accounts held during the previous year.

April 2014 – Is Nevada a Good Bet for Asset Protection?

admin — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 16:28:36 +0000

Florida and Texas have some of the more debtor-friendly state laws, however, with the introduction of N.R.S. 86.401.2(a) in 2011, Nevada became the most debtor-friendly state in the United States.

June 2013 – Supreme Court’s One-Two Punch Creates Substantial Estate Planning Opportunities for California Same-Sex Couples

admin — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 22:41:36 +0000

On the last day of its 2013 term, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two monumental rulings dealing with same-sex marriage. The result is that federal benefits conferred to married couples in over 1000 federal statutes now benefit same-sex couples as … Continue reading →

February 2013 – How (and When) Do Trusts Provide Asset Protection? – An Overview

admin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:13:57 +0000

One of the tools we commonly use to shield a client’s assets from creditors is a trust. Trusts are used so frequently, and benefits of trusts are so second nature to us, that we sometimes fail to explain some basic trust principles. We’re going to ameliorate that shortcoming right here.

January 2013 – Finally… Some Finality in Estate Planning

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:45:45 +0000

After years of uncertainty, Congress has finally removed the uncertainty surrounding the taxation of decedents’ estates. Estate planning attorneys (and our clients) can now plan to reduce estate taxes with some degree of confidence that the landscape will not radically change as soon as the ink on the estate plan is dry.

October 2012 – Do You (Should You) Care About FATCA?

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:45:17 +0000

There was a time – until very recently – when a U.S. citizen who maintained a foreign bank account but who didn’t bother to pay the tax on the interest earned on that account had very little to worry about. After all, if the taxpayer himself was not going to report the income, the only other party who knew about the account was the foreign bank itself, and foreign banks don’t send 1099 forms to the IRS. The only way the IRS could ever learn of the account is in the highly unlikely event that a routine audit would uncover the foreign-source income.

January 2012 – Understanding Offshore Banking – A Hands-On Primer

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:44:50 +0000

If you have never banked outside the United States, offshore banking may seem mysterious and shadowy. It is not, and the following will illuminate the subject.

September 2011 – Nevada Once Again Leads the Way in Debtor-Friendly Legislation

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:44:25 +0000

The laws of the 50 states aren’t uniform when it comes to shielding or exposing a debtor’s assets from the claims of creditors. For example, some states fully expose a debtor’s residence to a creditor. Other states, such as Florida and Texas, provide a complete homestead exemption. But no state beats Nevada when it comes to consistently and aggressively enacting legislation designed to assure that a debtor’s assets remain with the debtor and out of the clutches of creditors.

May 2011 – Expatriation: Exit Tax, Planning Options, New Citizenship

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:43:59 +0000

Expatriation refers to not simply leaving the U.S. and living abroad, but also to surrendering U.S. citizenship or permanent residency. If someone does surrender U.S. citizenship, moves abroad and picks up a new citizenship, the U.S. government may be unable to recover taxes due to it by the expat (no more jurisdiction). Consequently, the expatriation rules of the Code look to extract a tax from the expat while the U.S. still has jurisdiction. This is commonly referred to as the “exit tax.”

March 2011 – How to Keep Your Assets Private

admin — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 21:43:06 +0000

We advise our clients that asset protection is not about hiding assets; it’s about structuring the debtor’s affairs so that even if a creditor learns of the existence of the debtor’s assets, he cannot access the assets.