Topics A-Z

Topics A-Z

This glossary addresses three readerships whose questions increasingly overlap: officers of banks, brokerages, trust companies and family offices who administer accounts touching more than one jurisdiction; United States persons of substantial wealth planning the transfer of that wealth; and non-United States persons who hold American assets or expect to receive them. Each term below links to its full treatment on one of three companion pages by subject.

Figures stated are those in force for 2026. The material is provided for information only and does not constitute legal advice. Positions taken by the Internal Revenue Service, by state revenue departments and by foreign authorities differ, and the application of any rule depends on facts that this format cannot accommodate.

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W

A

Alternate Valuation Date

Ancillary Probate

Annual Exclusion

Apostille

Applicable Exclusion Amount

Appraisals and Qualified Appraisers

Art and Collectibles

Asset Protection

B

Backup Withholding

Basis Step-Up

Beneficial Ownership Reporting

Beneficiary Designations

Blocker Corporation

Branch Profits Tax

C

Charitable Lead Trust

Charitable Remainder Trust

Check-the-Box Election

Closely Held Business Succession

Common Reporting Standard

Community Property

Controlled Foreign Corporation

Corporate Trustee

Covered Expatriate

Creditor Claims

D

Decanting

Deceased Account Handling

Digital Assets

Directed Trust

Disclaimer

Domicile

Donor-Advised Fund

Dynasty Trust

E

Effectively Connected Income

Elective Share

Escheat and Unclaimed Property

Estate Account

Estate Tax

Estate Tax Treaties

Executor and Personal Representative

Expatriation

F

Family Governance

Family Limited Partnership

Family Office

FATCA

FBAR

Fiduciary Income Tax

Fiduciary Liability

FIRPTA

Foreign Grantor Trust

Foreign Non-Grantor Trust

Form 706 and Form 706-NA

Form 1042-S

Form 3520 and Form 3520-A

Form 5471

G

Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax

GILTI and Net CFC Tested Income

Grantor Retained Annuity Trust

Grantor Trust Rules

Green Card

H

HIPAA Authorization

Holding Structures for United States Real Estate

I

Incapacity Planning

Income in Respect of a Decedent

Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust

Intestacy

Investor Visas and Residence Planning

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

J

Joint Accounts and Survivorship

Jurisdiction and Trust Situs

K

Know Your Customer and Customer Due Diligence

L

Letters Testamentary

Life Insurance

Limitation on Benefits

Liquidity Planning

M

Marital Deduction

Medallion Signature Guarantee

Multi-Jurisdictional Estates

N

No-Contest Clause

Non-Citizen Spouse

Non-Probate Assets

Nonresident Alien

O

Offshore Disclosure and Correction

P

Passive Foreign Investment Company

Portability

Portfolio Interest Exemption

Pre-Immigration Planning

Prenuptial and Postnuptial Agreements

Private Foundation

Private Placement Life Insurance

Probate

Prudent Investor Rule

Q

Qualified Domestic Trust

Qualified Intermediary

Qualified Personal Residence Trust

Qualified Terminable Interest Property

R

Real Estate

Required Minimum Distributions

Retirement Accounts

Revocable Living Trust

S

Safe Deposit Box

Section 2801 Tax

Section 6166 Deferral

Situs

Spendthrift Provision

Spousal Lifetime Access Trust

State Estate and Inheritance Taxes

Substantial Presence Test

Successor Trustee

T

Tenancy by the Entirety

Tenancy in Common

Transfer Certificate

Transfer on Death

Trustee Selection

Trust Protector

Trusts

U

Uniform Transfers to Minors Act

United States Person

United States Real Property Holding Corporation

V

Valuation Discounts

W

W-8 and W-9 Forms

Will Contests

Wills and Testaments

Withholding on United States Source Income

For the firm’s longer treatments of these subjects, see the Articles and Guides page.