For many years, families whose fortunes exceeded the applicable estate tax exemption amount (currently $5.45 million) have tried to reduce the value of their estates for estate and gift tax purposes by utilizing planning techniques that take advantage of discounts available in the valuation of assets held by entities such as LLCs, partnerships or corporations. For instance, clients have been advised to create family limited partnerships or family limited liability companies and to transfer a portion of their assets to these entities. Then, (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The IRS has published proposed regulations concerning the valuation of family-owned businesses for estate and gift tax purposes that are potentially game changing. The sweep of these regulations is broad and encompasses both active family businesses and passive, investment-driven family…<\/span><\/p>\n