News & Insights
Cummings & Lockwood Ranks as a Top Tier Private Wealth Law Firm in Connecticut by Chambers High Net Worth Guide for the 9th Consecutive Year
July 19, 2024Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that the firm’s Private Clients Group in Connecticut has achieved the top tier ranking by Chambers High Net Worth Guide for the 9th consecutive year in private wealth law.
CONNELLY v. UNITED STATES: Supreme Court Weighed In on the Valuation of Closely-Held Companies for Estate Tax Purposes
June 27, 2024Succession planning for many closely-held and family businesses will be impacted by the Supreme Court’s June 6, 2024 ruling in Connelly v. United States. In the case, the Court unanimously upheld the IRS’s position that life insurance proceeds payable to a company to fund its obligation to redeem shares from a deceased shareholder are an asset that increases the company’s fair market value.
Connecticut Passes Decanting Statute to Provide Greater Flexibility to Modify Old Trusts
June 10, 2024On June 5, 2024, Connecticut followed a number of other states by passing a “decanting” statute which specifically authorizes decanting of irrevocable trusts in Connecticut. Decanting is the act of a Trustee distributing the assets from a trust (“Old Trust”) into a new trust (“New Trust”) which has different terms that are more suited to the current circumstances.
IRS Concludes Trust Distribution Prior to Sale Does Not Violate Like-Kind Exchange “Held For” Requirement
May 30, 2024Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 allows taxpayers to defer federal income tax on the sale of real estate (relinquished property) if the sales proceeds are reinvested in business or investment real estate (replacement property) (a “like-kind exchange”).
Jeffrey M. Helf Joins Cummings & Lockwood as the New CFO
May 15, 2024Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that Jeffrey M. Helf has recently joined the firm as the Chief Financial Officer.
Cummings & Lockwood Welcomes Four New Associates to Its Private Clients Practice
April 11, 2024Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that four new Associates have joined the firm’s Private Clients Group. “We are excited to have such talented attorneys join our trusts and estates practice,” noted Heather J. Rhoades, Chairman of the Private Clients Group.
Stephen A. Falcigno Joins Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group in Stamford, CT
March 11, 2024Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that Stephen Falcigno has joined the firm as an Associate in its Private Clients Group which is one of the oldest, largest and most respected trusts and estates practices in the United States.
Connecticut Plans to Fight Back Against New York's Remote Work Tax (Sort Of)
March 6, 2024In most cases, an employee who lives in one state (State A) but works for an employer in another state (State B) is taxed by State B only on wages earned during days he is physically working in State B.
2023 Cummings & Lockwood Firmwide Annual Update
January 30, 2024We are pleased to bring you Cummings & Lockwood’s 2023 Firmwide Annual
Update. It includes our Chairman’s letter, as well as highlights some of the significant
legal work we have performed for clients in each of our four practice areas, the
philanthropic organizations we have supported, and the professional recognitions we
have received based on the quality of our legal counsel and representation.
Tax Court Decision Exposes Limited Partners To Self-Employment Tax
January 3, 2024Under U.S. federal income tax law, self-employment tax is imposed at a rate of 15.3%, with 12.4% for Social Security and 2.9% for Medicare.
Elizabeth A. Falkoff Has Been Accepted into the New England Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
January 3, 2024Elizabeth (“Betsy”) A. Falkoff, a Principal in Cummings & Lockwood’s Private Clients Group and based in the firm’s Stamford office, has been accepted into Class II of the New England Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).
Cummings & Lockwood Promotes Three Private Clients Attorneys to Principal
January 2, 2024Cummings & Lockwood is pleased to announce that the following three private clients attorneys have been elected to Principal effective January 1, 2024: Katherine Cotter Gent, Elizabeth A. Falkoff and Rachel Rhein Zarghami.