Knowledge Base
Estate planning fundamentals, asset protection, legacy planning, and the legal frameworks that ensure your wealth goes where you intend — not where the courts decide.
73 articles in this category — page 1 of 7
Average wealth by age in the U.S. ranges from roughly $76,300 for households under 35 to $1.2 million for those aged 65 to 74, according to the Federal Reserve's 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances. Those figures describe the median American. If you're reading this, they almost certainly don't describe
The right wealth holding vehicles can mean the difference between transferring $10 million to your heirs and handing $4 million of it to the IRS first. For anyone sitting on $5 million or more, the structural decisions you make now, particularly before the TCJA exemption sunset at the end of 2025, w
Astor family wealth began with a single, calculated bet on an underserved market. John Jacob Astor arrived in New York in 1783 with a small inventory of musical instruments and an acute awareness of one fact: European demand for North American beaver pelts far exceeded supply. Within two decades, he
Schiff family wealth didn't accumulate through inheritance or luck. It was built through a specific, repeatable model: control a private partnership, dominate a capital-intensive sector, and reinvest aggressively across generations. Understanding how that model worked, and where it eventually broke
Private equity litigation is not a retail investor problem. When you're committing $5M or more to a fund, you're operating in a world where disputes routinely involve nine-figure valuations, multi-year discovery processes, and legal theories that don't appear in any standard investment advisory disc
An MFN clause in private equity is a contractual provision that entitles an investor to receive any more favorable terms subsequently granted to another investor in the same fund. If the GP gives a later LP a lower management fee or broader governance rights, the MFN holder can elect to receive thos
A deemed contribution in private equity occurs when the IRS treats a partner as having made a capital contribution to a partnership without any actual cash or property changing hands. The trigger is almost always a shift in how partnership liabilities are allocated among partners. Under IRC Section
The right of first refusal in venture capital gives existing investors the contractual option to participate in a future funding round before the company can accept capital from new investors. It is one of the most consequential provisions in any term sheet, and its specific mechanics determine whet
Side letters in private equity are bilateral agreements between a fund's general partner and a specific limited partner, granting that LP terms that deviate from the standard limited partnership agreement. They are legally binding, run alongside the LPA, and in any conflict, typically control. For i
Private equity regulation in the United States shifted materially in 2024. The SEC's landmark Private Fund Adviser Rules were vacated by a federal appeals court, carried interest taxation remains a live political target, and the compliance burden on fund managers keeps climbing. If you're allocating
Private equity contracts determine how much of the upside you keep, when you get it, and what recourse you have when a GP underperforms. For investors writing $1M to $5M checks into PE funds, the gap between a well-negotiated LPA and a standard-form agreement can run into seven figures over a fund's
A Limited Partnership Agreement is the governing contract between a fund's general partner and its limited partners. It defines capital commitments, fee economics, governance rights, distribution mechanics, and exit procedures. For anyone committing $5M or more to a private equity fund, the LPA is n