Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

May 06, 2019 | The Legal Intelligencer

The role of the living will (also known as a health care declaration or an advance directive for health care), a key document in the estate planning process, has been evolving over the last 20 years or so.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

5 minute read

March 04, 2019 | The Legal Intelligencer

It is important for folks to understand that by doing this they may be giving up the stepped-up basis at death. Consequently, they may have missed out on an arbitrage opportunity by failing to evaluate the capital gains tax versus the inheritance tax savings.

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

7 minute read

January 03, 2019 | The Legal Intelligencer

We thought it would be worthwhile, at this juncture, to try to identify some of the factors that we believe have kept us in business as we approach our seven-year mark in May of this year. Here they are, in no particular order:

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

5 minute read

October 31, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

It's that time of the year again—time to begin considering year-end tax planning issues. Rather than wait until the end of December, getting a head start on planning can improve your chances of concluding matters by Dec. 31.

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

6 minute read

September 27, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

As estate planners, we often come across questions about the tax consequences of making lifetime gifts. This article is intended to shed some light on how gifting fits into the overall tax system and to clear up common misconceptions about the tax implications of gifting.

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

10 minute read

September 06, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Rather than dedicate our efforts this month to informing our readers about one specific set of issues arising in the trusts and estates practice, we thought it would be helpful to instead focus on the mistakes we regularly see, which, with a little care and effort, can be avoided for the peace of mind of the client, and the financial benefit of the objects of the client's.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

11 minute read

July 02, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

Many local estate planning practitioners (including lawyers at our firm) prepare estate plans that include both a will and a revocable trust.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

1 minute read

May 07, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

A parallel topic for business owners, that we did not address in that article head on, is the myriad ways in which businesses are transitioned once the sole owner of the business exits, whether by accident (i.e., death or disability) or by design.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

7 minute read

March 05, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

A survey was recently circulated among the Philadelphia Bar Association Probate and Trust Section attorney members seeking commentary on their experiences with clients who have accounts registered as transfer on death (TOD) or payable on death (POD).

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

6 minute read

January 09, 2018 | The Legal Intelligencer

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the act), which was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017, made substantial changes to the Internal Revenue Code, most of which went into effect on Jan. 1. One significant result of the passage of the act is the doubling of the exemption amount for the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

8 minute read