The wealthiest taxpayers have many tools at their disposal to pay less to Uncle Sam. Some tactics, like donating to charity via trusts, might seem far-fetched but are perfectly legal.
Pandemics, inflation, rising interest rates, war in the Ukraine—uncertain times indeed! And yet, in the world of estate planning, almost every change in the zeitgeist offers its own suite of planning opportunities and applicable techniques.
The Treasury Department is on the cusp of changing a taxpayer-friendly regulation regarding federal estate taxes, but there’s no need to panic. As long as taxpayers can show that their gifts are truly gifts, they should not be affected by the revision.
Grantor retained annuity trusts, intentionally defective grantor trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, oh my! If you overhear two estate planning attorneys at a coffee shop, it would not be unreasonable to think that all clients have estate plans filled with trusts.
It took a lot of hard work and dedication to acquire your wealth. You want to transfer as much of it as you can to your beneficiaries. As a result, having a large estate means you’ll have to pay quite a bit in gift and estate taxes.
Taxpayers should, of course, carefully consider whether to engage in a lifetime gifting strategy, which has other considerations beyond just estate taxes (such as the tradeoff with the ‘step‑up’ in basis, and non-tax family related considerations).
A recipient of a gift does not pay income taxes on the gift. However, the gift-giver may pay gift taxes, unless one of two exemptions applies.
If you have not already been inundated with invitations to webinars, articles and newsletters regarding the estate planning you should consider doing before new legislation passes, you undoubtedly will receive these over the next few months.
Facing down an uncertain election outcome and the possibility of tax reform in 2021, many families started transferring substantial amounts of wealth last year, making large gifts to take advantage of the historically high gift and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions.
Early in 2021, you should communicate with your advisers and review several items about your 2020 planning, if that planning is to have any likelihood of succeeding.
