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4 days ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
Stethoscope on blackboard and chalks with Long Term Care words as medical conceptgettyAs long-term care costs soar beyond $100,000 annually and lifetime dementia care adds approximately $184,500, failing to plan for elderly and disabled family members could jeopardize your family's financial future. The statistics are alarming: The average cost of a private nursing home room has risen to $109,628 per year nationally, with some states, like Alaska, reaching as high as $361,223.
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1 week ago | 
fa-mag.com | Matthew Erskine
Bottom Line Up Front: The House and Senate have developed significantly different approaches to extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), with the House version costing approximately $4 trillion over 10 years and the Senate version designed to be more fiscally conservative. Key differences include varying approaches to state and local tax deductions, child tax credits, and Medicaid reforms.
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1 week ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
Long Exposure View of the East Entrance to the US Capitol Building With Moon in the SkygettySenate vs. House Tax Bills: Key Differences Impacting Estate Planning in 2025As Congress debates the “Big Beautiful Bill” – the next round of significant tax legislation, estate planners and their clients are paying close attention.
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2 weeks ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
High-end gold-colored watches, exposed behind the window of a watch shopgettyThe latest edition of the Significant Investor Newsletter examines the shifting dynamics in the fine art and collectibles markets in 2025. For estate planners, the intersection of these market changes with upcoming tax law revisions presents both opportunities and challenges for collectors and creators. Over the past five years, alternative assets have exhibited varied growth patterns.
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3 weeks ago | 
familywealthreport.com | Matthew Erskine
Matthew Erskine
June 3, 2025
The author of this article looks at a particular strategy for tax-free wealth accumulation and estate liquidity, which takes its name from Silicon Valley figure and commentator Peter Thiel.
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3 weeks ago | 
fa-mag.com | Matthew Erskine
Parents face a perennial question in estate planning: whether they should equally divide the assets they’re going to pass on to their children. Traditionally, equal division has been the norm, since parents want to be fair and keep the family unified.
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4 weeks ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
The recent upheaval in the senior management of Market Basket, a leading supermarket chain in the Northeast, serves as a stark reminder of the challenges inherent in family business succession planning. CEO Arthur T. Demoulas's has been suspended allegedly because he is planning a work stoppage and has circumventing established succession protocols to name his successors. This incident is a cautionary tale for estate planning professionals and family business owners.
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1 month ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
For ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families, effective planning transcends financial management. It involves a comprehensive strategy that integrates tax, legal, investment, and philanthropic efforts together with both eldercare for older clients and education for younger clients, into a seamless whole. Unfortunately, many UHNW individuals still experience fragmented planning, as many firms focus narrowly on specific areas like tax mitigation or asset protection without considering the big picture.
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1 month ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
In the world of financial planning, few strategies have garnered as much attention and intrigue as the "Thiel Strategy." Named after Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, this approach leverages the unique tax advantages of Roth IRAs by investing in high-growth, illiquid assets like startup equity. The essence of the strategy lies in funding a Roth IRA with assets that, while initially undervalued, such as founder’s stock, have the potential to appreciate significantly over time.
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1 month ago | 
forbes.com | Matthew Erskine
In2020, I explored several options for deferring capital gains tax on the sale of artwork. Since then, tax law has evolved, and new tools have emerged, offering collectors, investors, and estate planners updated strategies for managing highly appreciated art and collectibles. As of 2025, sellers face an effective federal tax rate that can exceed 31.8%, plus state taxes, when parting with artwork—making proactive tax planning more essential than ever.
