Reprinted with permission from the 3/28/19 edition of the New Jersey Law Journal© 2019 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-257-3382 or reprints@alm.com. In light of ever-present budget shortfalls in most states’ coffers, a go-to revenue generating technique affecting all business owners is a “nexus” audit. The U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer in South Dakota v. Wayfair, 138 S.Ct. 2080 (2018), overturning the longstanding precedent…

In a recent unpublished opinion, the New Jersey Appellate Division summarized the factors a trial court must consider when awarding attorneys’ fees in Will contests.  In Matter of the Estate of Fornaro, 2019 WL 2172791, the decedent executed a Will in 2011 leaving the bulk of his estate to his son.  In an earlier 1999 Will, however, the decedent had divided his estate equally between his son and daughter. The decedent died in 2012 and…

Many people familiar with litigation probably think of pretrial discovery in the context of traditional and often heated litigation—perhaps a contentious divorce, a complex contractual or real estate dispute or a contested personal injury or medical malpractice lawsuit.  While pretrial discovery in Florida is certainly very common in these types of cases, the Florida Probate Rules allow for discovery even in non-contested, routine estate administrations where there are no adverse parties or claims, i.e., matters…

The 2017 Tax Act added a new tax on US shareholders of controlled foreign corporations (“CFCs”), the tax on Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (“GILTI”).  GILTI often includes active business income and thus has a widespread impact. For US C corporations, the regular 21% tax is reduced by a 50% deduction, which lowers the tax rate on GILTI to 10.5%.  Corporations also can claim a foreign tax credit (“FTC”) for 80% of the foreign taxes paid…

On April 17, the IRS issued a second round of proposed regulations addressing qualification as a Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) Fund and related issues. This latest guidance addresses several unanswered questions and creates added flexibility, which should expand the ability to form QOZ Funds. The regulations clarified that a QOZ Fund can be an operating business such as a start-up company operating out of a QOZ.  A tech company can be formed in a QOZ…

Annuities are a common tool for investment, financial and estate planning and asset protection.  An annuity is simply a contract between a person and an insurance company in which the person makes a lump sum payment to the insurance company in exchange for regular disbursements of money that start either immediately or at some definite time in the future.    At its core, an annuity is really a form of investment or insurance that entitles the…