Wal-Mart Family Business Succession: Son in Law Takes Over (June 6, 2015)

There is an interesting article on page B3 of today’s Wall Street Journal (for those still reading the print edition) about family business succession at Wal-Mart.

What are you doing to plan your Florida Estate?

• Chairman Rob Walton is being succeeded by son in law Greg Penner; just the 3rd person to hold this important American business title since the late, great Sam Walton.
• The son in law, Greg Penner is only 45 years old.
• According to the Wall Street Journal, the Walton family owns about 50% of the stock in Wal-Mart.
• From an estate planning standpoint, many Palm Beach estate planning and transfer tax attorneys know, and are very familiar with, the “Walton GRAT” case, years old now, and
• How grantor retained annuity trusts may be used to shift wealth to applicable family members at little or no gift tax cost.
• GRATs can be a great estate tax saving vehicle for children, but not always the “best” estate planning technique for more remote descendants like grandchildren, because of the allocation rules of the GST (generation-skipping transfer tax).
• Here is the link to this article on son in law Greg Penner taking over at Wal-Mart:http://www.wsj.com/articles/wal-mart-names-greg-penner-as-chairman-1433511656