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
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
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
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."- The Serenity Prayer- The first 100 days of President Trump’s administration have been...more
The May 2025 Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 5.00%, which is the same as the April 2025 Section 7520 rate...more
Federal Estate, GST and Gift Tax Rates The federal estate, gift and GST applicable exclusion amounts are as summarized below. In simple terms, these dollar figures represent the amount of wealth that each individual can...more
The "big ticket" item of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is the significant increase to the lifetime gift, estate and generation-skipping tax (GST) tax exemptions. Under the TCJA, the exemptions were increased from $5...more
Each year, certain estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax figures are subject to inflation adjustments that go in effect on January 1. Below are the current adjustments for 2024....more
A strong stock market and “soft landing” have generated significant wealth this year. The gift tax, estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax are all imposed on the fair market value of assets at the time of transfer....more
During 2022, COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, global inflation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the uncertainty about the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), and the Inflation Reduction Act...more
Historically, only the very wealthy engaged in generation-skipping estate planning. Families and individuals who do not think of themselves as "very wealthy," however, also can reap significant benefits from this type of...more
On February 15, 2022, the IRS announced that IRS Form 14457, Voluntary Disclosure Practice Preclearance Request and Application, and the accompanying instructions to the form had been revised. Because the revisions provide...more
You likely are aware, from the news and our prior communications, that Congress currently is considering proposals that may have a significant impact on many estate plans. Although we still cannot be certain which, if any, of...more
Our annual estate and tax planning newsletter discusses certain concepts and techniques that should be considered in 2022 by our clients and friends in California. Perhaps the most important recent development was the failure...more
The IRS recently confirmed that, for 2022, the aggregate amount that can be given away without being subject to the gift or estate tax will increase to $12.06 million per individual. Thus, as of 2022, a married couple...more
The updated version of the Build Back Better Act released by the House Budget Committee on November 3, 2021, does not include any of the significant gift tax, estate tax, generation-skipping transfer tax or grantor trust...more
Certain revenue-raising proposals that would have affected the transfer tax regime and estate planning of high-net-worth individuals and trusts, which were included in the prior proposed bill in the House of Representatives,...more
The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means’ tax proposals would significantly impact estate planning for high net worth individuals if enacted. Gift, estate and GST exemption amounts would be decreased; grantor trusts would...more
It is said that two things are certain in life: death and taxes. True, but incomplete. What is missing from this short list is a third inevitable occurrence – tax law changes. We now have a new and pressing series of proposed...more
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee released, and advanced out of committee, draft tax legislation intended to form a part of the Democratic budget reconciliation bill. At almost 900 pages in length, this draft...more
The Democrats of the House of Representatives have released a much-anticipated tax plan that would significantly impact the federal estate and gift tax system. Importantly, the House could still amend this legislation and the...more
The Democrats now have effective control over the presidency, the Senate, and the House, at least until the 2022 mid-term elections. These political realities, along with current economic conditions, make it more likely that...more
In 2020, COVID-19, the US presidential election, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the TCJA), and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the CARES ACT) dominated the planning landscape....more
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, in 2020 each person may transfer up to $11,580,000 without incurring a gift or estate tax. This generous exemption amount will sunset at the end of 2025, which means that in 2026, the...more
The 2020 election is less than a month away and year-end estate planning is already underway for many. Under current law, the estate, gift and GST (generation-skipping transfer) tax exemptions for 2020 are set at $11,580,000...more
Nowotny On Death and Taxes podcast episode #24, discusses using the Loan Method of Split Dollar in the After-Life!...more