Elizabeth Summers, J.D.

The time leading up to the sale of a business can be both exciting and exhausting as years – sometimes even decades – of sustained effort come together in one final push. Often, this period involves a focus on what we refer to as “pre-liquidity planning,” where interests in the business may be sold or gifted to different types of irrevocable trusts prior to the sale. Because pre-liquidity planning can provide both significant transfer tax savings and thoughtful capital gain management, it gets

Your choice of business structure will have far-reaching effects on your tax planning and your ability to engage in certain wealth transfer techniques. This high-level overview of two common types of corporate entities, C corporations and S corporations, may be helpful as you evaluate how best to structure your next venture or as a quick refresher on the “rules of the road” for an existing corporation. As always, it is critical to consult with your legal and tax advisors before implementing or

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will have a significant impact on certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. Four major areas of change include the increase of the estate/gift/GST tax exemption, the state and local tax (SALT) deductions, and the qualified small business stock and qualified opportunity zone regimes. Federal Estate/Gift/GST Tax Exemption Under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the current estate/gift/GST tax exemption of $13.99 million per U.S. person was schedu

In this episode, Liz Summers breaks down a recent Supreme Court ruling that changes how buy-sell agreements funded with life insurance are treated for estate taxes.

As you begin to think about selling your business, excitement about what your life will look like after the sale may be tempered by the reality of a significant capital gain recognition event. One way to manage some portion of the potential income tax consequences of a sale is through philanthropy. Thoughtful charitable planning may provide both meaningful capital gain management and an opportunity to give back to the community that allowed you and your business to thrive. You may make a charit

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) contained a number of favorable tax provisions. Among other changes, the Act reduced the top income tax rate from 39.6% to 37% and significantly reduced the number of taxpayers subject to the AMT. The Act also raised the exemption from gift and estate tax to a historic high. In 2017, an individual could pass $5.6 million (indexed for inflation) per person free from transfer tax. Following the passage of the Act, in 2018, the same individual could no