Griffin Law Firm, PLLC

What's the real dollar difference between passing wealth through taxable estates vs. holding it in a dynasty trust? Our new scenario builder lets you model it across multiple generations with your own numbers. Try it on our website — and if the gap surprises you, we should talk.

Where you establish a dynasty trust matters almost as much as how you fund it. Some states allow perpetual trusts with no state income tax and strong asset protection. Others cap trust duration at 90 years or tax accumulated income. Even Texas allows trusts to run for 300 years. Jurisdiction selection is a planning decision, not a default.

New on the blog: Dynasty trusts and GST planning — how the current $15M exemption lets you move wealth out of your taxable estate permanently. We cover trust design, jurisdiction selection, grantor trust mechanics, and a generation-by-generation comparison showing what happens when wealth compounds tax-free. Link in comments.

Most estate plans transfer wealth to the next generation. A dynasty trust skips the "next generation" thinking entirely — it's designed to hold wealth for three, four, even unlimited generations without being eroded by estate tax at each transfer. This month we're exploring how it works and who it's really for.

We built a Buy-Sell Agreement Health Check — answer a few questions about your current agreement and get a risk rating across five categories: valuation, funding, trigger coverage, tax efficiency, and operational readiness. It takes about three minutes and might save you from a very expensive surprise. Try it on our website. Link in the comments.

The difference between a cross-purchase and an entity redemption isn't just structural — it has major tax consequences. One gives the surviving owner a full basis step-up. The other doesn't. And if your business is a partnership or LLC, you're dealing with an entirely different set of rules — Sections 736, 754, and 743(b) — where the stakes are just as high. If your agreement was drafted without considering the tax angle, it's worth a second look.

Most buy-sell agreements fail in exactly three ways — a stale valuation, inadequate funding, and trigger events that don't match reality. We walk through a real scenario where a "book value" clause cost a surviving partner's family millions, plus the tax differences between cross-purchase, entity redemption, and partnership buyout structures that most owners never consider. Link in comments.

Quick question for business owners with partners: when was the last time you actually read your buy-sell agreement? If the answer is "at signing," you may have a document that no longer reflects your business, your risks, or your tax situation. We're digging into this one all month.

Not sure if your QSBS sale qualifies for a §1045 rollover? We built an interactive tool that walks you through the eligibility questions and calculates your potential tax savings. Try it on our website — and if the numbers look interesting, let's talk about your timeline.

One detail about §1045 that catches founders off guard: the 60-day reinvestment clock starts on the closing date — not when you receive proceeds, not when you sign the LOI. Miss it by a day and there's no extension, no cure, no "reasonable cause" exception. Planning starts before you sell.