Top Gun: Maverick - Core Estate Plan and Gifting Basics
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Once Removed Episode 17: Annual Gifting to Individuals: Options, Opportunities and Pitfalls
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) brings sweeping and permanent changes to the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax landscape. Most notably, it significantly increases the...more
After months of intense negotiations, on July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) was signed into law making various changes to the tax code that impacts estate, gift and income tax planning. Increased Estate, Gift...more
Key Takeaways - 1. The Act permanently extends the doubled gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax exclusion amount to $15 million per individual and $30 million per married couple, indexed for inflation. 2. The Act...more
President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law on July 4, 2025. The OBBBA represents a significant overhaul of the U.S. tax system, making permanent many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs...more
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) into law. The OBBBA is the tax and budget reconciliation package for the current 2025 fiscal year through 2034. While the bill focuses primarily...more
In this second installment of our multi-part series on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”), my colleague David Knutson and I discuss the changes made by the Act to the federal estate and gift tax regime....more
President Trump’s July 4th signing of the Opportunity, Balance, and Better Budget Act sets an increased $15 million federal estate and gift tax exclusion and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption per individual,...more
The new tax cut and spending bill known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, increases federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax exemptions to $15 million...more
The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), which passed on July 3 and was signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, increases the amount individuals may transfer for federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax...more
Springtime is a great time to review your current estate plan or consider creating one. This year brings a number of opportunities for creating an estate plan, pursuing gifting strategies, and considering philanthropic...more
Now’s the time to review your GST tax exposure Absent congressional action this year, the federal gift and estate exemption and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption (currently $13.99 million) are scheduled...more
On February 13, 2025, Republican lawmakers in Congress introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act, which aims to permanently eliminate the federal estate tax. Since 2015, various legislative efforts to repeal the estate, gift, and...more
Federal Exemption Amounts Increased to $13,990,000 - As of January 1, 2025, the federal gift and estate tax exemption amount, as well as the exemption from generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, (collectively, the...more
The arrival of 2025 brings with it increased estate and gift exclusion amounts. For an estate of any decedent dying during calendar year 2025, the Federal applicable exemption will increase from $13.61 million to $13.99...more
With the end of the year quickly approaching, now is good time to ensure you make your annual exclusion gifts for the year to reduce your taxable estate. For 2024, an individual can give $18,000 (and a married couple...more
What This Means for Your Current Will, Revocable Trust and Estate Plan - The estate and gift tax regimes have been permanent and unified since the passage of The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the "2012 Act"). In...more
A key benefit to families with taxable estates may be about to go away. The Tax Reform Act of 2017 incorporated numerous tax reductions into U.S. law, with one significantly increasing the ability of taxable estate owners to...more
Today’s federal estate and gift tax laws may be remembered as the most generous to wealthy families since the Great Depression. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doubled the federal estate, gift, and generation skipping...more
Thoughtful planning and careful implementation are essential to a successful estate plan that preserves wealth in the most tax-efficient manner and fulfills a family’s personal objectives....more
Estate planning and wealth transfer professionals have their eyes on the sky as the future of federal estate taxation grows increasingly nebulous. Background - The federal gift and estate tax exemption is the amount...more
June 2024 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts - The June Section 7520 rate for use in estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs...more
In a significant legislative shift, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 doubled the exemption amounts for estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes (collectively known as “Death Taxes”). As of 2024, the federal...more
Any estate planning attorney will tell you that certain years stick out in their professional lives more than others. Here are some recent examples...more
In 2024, the federal estate, gift, and Generation Skipping Transfer tax exemption amount increased from $12.92 million to $13.61 million per individual (a combined $27.22 million for a married couple), representing an...more