Cummings & Lockwood LLC
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White Papers

Estate Planning

A Private Clients Group White Paper

The goal of estate planning is to provide for the management and transfer of your property, in the event of your death or incapacity, at the smallest financial and emotional cost to your family. 

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Administration of Irrevocable Insurance Trusts

A Private Clients Group White Paper

This memorandum is designed to outline some of the basic administrative steps to be followed by the Trustee of an irrevocable insurance trust.  When properly implemented and administered, such a trust will prevent the imposition of estate tax on any life insurance policies owned by the trust, both at the insured’s death and at the death of the insured’s surviving spouse.

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Relocating to Connecticut

A Private Clients Group White Paper
January 25, 2021

Cummings & Lockwood has prepared this memorandum to provide basic information about relocating to Connecticut.  Drawing on our experience in advising newly relocated clients, we have summarized certain local procedures and laws which may be helpful to you in preparing to live in Connecticut.

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Administering Your Revocable Trust

A Private Clients Group White Paper

This Memorandum is intended as a general guide for you to use in administering your Revocable Trust (also known as a “Living Trust”) and deciding whether you wish to transfer assets to (or “fund”) your Revocable Trust during your lifetime.  This Memorandum also provides guidance for making the title transfers that are necessary if you do wish to fund your Trust during your life.

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Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

A Private Clients Group White Paper

Many people are attracted to life insurance by the promise of security a life insurance policy can provide.  Advertisements for life insurance policies frequently point out that life insurance proceeds can help the survivors of the insured accomplish a number of objectives, including paying off a mortgage, providing the funds required for the complete education of children and providing family members with an additional source of income.

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Digital Assets

A Private Clients Group White Paper

Digital assets include photos and videos to music, whether on devices or in the cloud, as well as email accounts, social networking accounts, internet domain names, blogs, online gaming items, and client lists and other electronic files

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Sick of Paying State Income Taxes?

A Private Clients Group White Paper
March 24, 2019

Every year as clients file their income tax returns, we field questions about how to be considered a resident of another state (often a state with no state income tax) to reduce or eliminate state income taxes. 

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Relocating to Florida

A Private Clients Group White Paper

Drawing upon the experience we have gained through advising our existing clients, we have summarized certain local procedures and laws which may be helpful to you in preparing to live in or establish domicile in Florida

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Protecting and Transitioning Your Wealth: A Comprehensive View of Trust and Estate Planning for Family Offices

A Private Clients Group White Paper

Cummings & Lockwood’s private client attorneys recently published a white paper in conjunction with the Family Office Association entitled “Protecting and Transitioning Your Wealth:  A Comprehensive View of Trust and Estate Planning for Family Offices.”  This white paper addresses essential elements of planning – from life planning and administration to trust selection and asset protection. 

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The Importance of Domicile

A Private Clients Group White Paper

Our society has become increasingly mobile and people frequently relocate from state to state, own vacation homes in a state different from that of their year-round residence or retire out of state. 

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Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts

A Private Clients Group White Paper

Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts are one estate planning tool used to reduce inheritance taxes by removing assets from an estate.  A Grantor Retained Annuity Trust, often referred to as a “GRAT”, operates as follows...

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Gifting

A Private Clients Group White Paper

For those who are willing and able to take the further step of reducing their taxable estates by making lifetime gifts, far greater tax savings opportunities exist through a lifetime gifting program. 

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