The Grupp Law Firm LLC

12/15/2025

Many business owners and professionals have discovered Wyoming Asset Protection Trusts. Wyoming is a strong situs featuring favorable tax posture, robust statutes, and privacy. However, the tool is not right for everyone. One question we like to consider before moving ahead with an asset protection trust: where is the risk?

If risk is personal (malpractice, guarantees, divorce, bankruptcy), a DAPT can insulate surplus “risk-off” assets. If risk lives inside the operating company, moving that company into a trust will not shield it from its own liabilities. Deciding which assets to put into the trust is nuanced and all depends on where the risk is, the size and growth potential of the estate, etc.

https://grupplaw.com/insights/wyoming-asset-protection-trust/

Learn how a Wyoming Domestic Asset Protection Trust (DAPT) shields assets from creditors under Wyoming law. Discover key benefits, risks, costs, and setup requirements.

07/29/2025

Flexibility means a lot to some of our clients. One of the features a private family trust company (PFTC) for these clients is the flexibility it offers in governance.

Governance is the formal structure and informal culture around the family’s decision-making. The PFTC allows the family either to be very involved in governance, or to take an overseeing/advisory role.

The family remains in control of the board of managers. However, they may also sit on the committees, with a couple exceptions.

How involved do family members have to be in the policies and day to day operations of their PFTC? It depends on what the family wants.

Some families may choose to take an active role, while others may choose to hire administrative staff to fill the committee role. Alternatively, the family may choose to hire 3rd party advisors to run the PFTC.

To learn more about the Wyoming Private Family Trust Company, read here. https://grupplaw.com/insights/wy-private-family-trust-company/

07/22/2025

Are you asking the right questions?

As family office advisor, doing a good job requires asking the right questions and listening carefully. This makes the difference between serving the needs of your clients and overlooking some of the dangers and opportunities that they face.

This article highlights some ways in which advisors can ask better questions to get the results they and their clients desire.

https://grupplaw.com/insights/are-you-asking-the-right-questions/

Many accomplished individuals establish and nurture positive relationships by knowing how to ask the right questions.

06/24/2025

A private family trust company (PFTC) is an entity designed to serve as trustee for a single family’s trusts. While the Wyoming Division of Banking regulates the closely related chartered private trust company, it does not regulate the PFTC.

That said, when a family form a PFTC, it needs to be aware of the applicable federal and state law. PFTC governance structures should be designed so that the company will function properly as a fiduciary and thus preserve the tax benefits of the family’s estate plan.

Wyoming permits PFTCs to be formed as either corporations or limited liability companies (LLCs). While either entity generally works well, we usually recommend that our clients organize their PFTCs as LLCs.

To learn more, read our article on Forming a WY PFTC.

https://grupplaw.com/insights/how-to-form-a-private-trust-company/

A private trust company (PTC) serves as trustee of one family's trusts. This article explores legal and structural issues to consider.

05/22/2025

Don't risk "living probate."

There are generally two types of living probate: guardianship and conservatorship.

These proceedings can be emotionally charged and risk opening private family matters to the public record.

Using a revocable living trust in your estate plan allows you to avoid the potentially expensive and time-consuming probate process. A revocable living trust can also protect you and your loved ones from a “living probate.”

Read more here: https://grupplaw.com/insights/health-care-esate-planning/

Health care considerations in estate planning will help you and your loved ones decide what to do if you become incapacitated.

10/25/2024

Estate planning in 2024 offers unique opportunities due to the enhanced lifetime exemption of $13.61 million per person, which will revert to around $5 million in 2026 under current law.

With potential changes to legislation on the horizon, it is crucial to plan proactively.

Transferring assets now may remove future appreciation from your estate and provide tax and non-tax benefits, such as asset protection.

Individuals should review their estate plans to maximize the remaining exemption, utilizing strategies like gifting, setting up trusts, and other wealth transfer techniques before the exemption decreases.

Estate planning is a crucial aspect of financial management, and understanding the current laws and exemptions is essential for maximizing wealth transfer. As we approach Election Day, it is worth looking more closely at current policy and what changes might be in store for 2025. Currently, federal....

10/14/2024

In 1973, the artist Pablo Picasso died with an estate worth $100-$250M and no estate plan. The ensuing battle over his estate lasted six years and cost $30M. This was good for lawyers and not so good for Picasso’s descendants! Unfortunately, Picasso’s estate is just one example of a common problem.

There are 4 estate planning pitfalls to avoid when creating a revocable living trust. Read more below…

Many people do not update their estate plan to reflect assets accumulated later in life. There are 4 estate planning pitfalls to avoid.

09/06/2024

Clients rely on their estate planning attorneys to guide them in what to consider when developing their estate plan.

The usual discussions are centered around how best to provide for beneficiaries and who should be in charge of things when they can no longer manage their affairs due to incapacity or death.

Without proper guidance from their attorney, clients may not know to ask about more nuanced situations that require special consideration in the overall estate plan.

This article is both for estate planning attorneys and their clients. We have put together five “not-so-common” questions that might help families more clearly frame their wants and needs for a personalized estate plan.

Considering these questions could have large impacts on clients, their families, and their assets.

https://grupplaw.com/insights/5-not-so-common-estate-planning-questions/

Here are some uncommon estate planning questions that clients should ask. They are more nuanced considerations with a potentially big impact.

08/29/2024

• A revocable living trust leaves you in control of your assets during your life with few changes.
• A revocable living trust lets you avoid probate.
• A revocable living trust allows for incapacity planning and health care provisions.
• A revocable living trust helps ensure that your financial and health care wishes are honored. This includes contingent circumstances and unique family situations.

https://grupplaw.com/insights/revocable-living-trusts-what-to-know/

Revocable living trusts avoid probate and can plan for incapacity. RLTs may also be foundation of an estate plan using irrevocable trusts.

07/16/2024

“Reasonable business appraisals take time. And those valuations need some “breathing room” from any potential transactions. For example, if your equity is valued at $100 per share in August and sold for $1,000 per share in September, there’s very little chance that the IRS will respect any of the hard work you just put into your tax planning.”

It can make a huge difference to business owners expecting a liquidity event in the next few years whether or not they do their valuation and estate planning work before the estate tax exemption drops to approximately half of current levels in 2026. Act earlier rather than later!

Brace yourselves. Business owners should prepare to be inundated over the next 12-18 months (if not already) with urgent appeals from estate planners, financial advisors, and accountants to get their tax planning in order before the federal lifetime estate and gift tax exemption potentially sunsets...

07/09/2024

This article does a good job of explaining the transition to seeing the family wealth as a new family business after a liquidity event.

We call this the “Family Enterprise View.”

Additionally, we recommend placing the family trusts under a private family trust company to facilitate the family enterprise view through built-in governance and procedures.

Furthermore, allowing the liquidity event to occur after the estate planning has occurred has the potential to be advantageous from an estate tax standpoint.

No family business owner ever thinks it can happen to them. You spend decades building the business, day after day, to create a legacy you can be proud of. Finally, the time comes to reap the fruits of your labors through a carefully planned exit, resulting in a substantial influx of wealth. You’r...