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
In the months preceding the general election in 2024, the owners of many closely held businesses who had not yet given much thought to the disposition of their future estates, including their businesses, decided they should...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
How was your Thanksgiving? I hope you celebrated the holiday in a pleasant setting with folks whose company you enjoyed, and with plenty of good food. I hope you participated in some interesting conversations or joined in...more
At the end of 2025, the federal estate and gift tax exemption will dramatically decrease unless Congress affirmatively passes a law saying otherwise. This event is the “sunsetting” of a 2018 federal tax law and is leading...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
The TCJA doubled the lifetime exclusion and GST tax exemption. This exclusion amount, adjusted for inflation, is now $13.61 million and is expected to be approximately $13.99 million in 2025. However, in 2026, the amount will...more
As we start the new year, this Federal Tax Update highlights estate planning-related federal tax information that may be helpful as you consider planning options for 2024. ...more
When it comes to passing wealth to the next generation, one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox is the use of your lifetime gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) exemption amounts. While the...more
From time to time, we provide updates in the estate planning area. While the November 2022 federal elections resulted in a divided Congress that dampens the likelihood of major federal tax legislation, we thought this would...more
The IRS on Friday announced a historic increase in contribution limits to 401(k) and other qualified retirement plans. In 2023, you may contribute up to $22,500 to your 401(k), 403(b) and most 457 plans, which represents more...more
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts, or “SLATs,” may be the ideal vehicle for clients interested in pursuing wealth-transfer tax planning. A SLAT is an irrevocable trust created by one spouse for the primary benefit of the...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
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
You have probably heard that the House Ways and Means Committee released proposals for increasing gift and estate taxes in order support legislation being advanced by the Democratic majority in Congress. ...more
This week, the House Ways and Means Committee released draft tax legislation. The legislative draft includes several provisions especially relevant to high-net-worth families and estate planning, including reducing the wealth...more
With Democratic control of the White House and Congress, there has been much speculation on what President Biden’s tax proposal will look like, as well as the likelihood that President Biden’s tax plan will be enacted into...more
On April 28, 2021, in an address to a Joint Session of Congress and a Fact Sheet published by the White House, President Biden introduced the “American Families Plan,” the President’s plan for spending and a series of tax...more
The Estate Planning Team at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP issues advisories regularly to communicate important law changes and other matters of interest to our clients, their advisors, and our friends. The 2020 presidential...more
The estate planning environment has been highly favorable, with transfer tax exemptions currently at historic highs and interest rates near all-time lows. However, the temporary nature of the increased exemptions and the...more
On January 5, 2021, Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock defeated GOP incumbents David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in their Senate runoff elections, giving the Democrats 50 seats in the Senate. Vice President Kamala...more
The election is only weeks away, and with it is likely to come significant changes to the tax code. Many economists anticipate that, regardless of the outcome, there will likely be tax increases to reduce the federal deficit,...more
- Annual inflation-indexing continues to increase the historically high lifetime exemption amount for gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Those of considerable wealth who have not yet made gifts, such as...more
Earlier this month, the IRS announced the cost of living adjusted (“COLA”) amount of the exemption applicable to transfers in 2020 that are subject to gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) taxes (i.e.,...more
Many people are aware of the federal gift tax and the federal estate tax (sometimes referred to as the ‘death tax’). These are the transfer taxes which are imposed on transfers during life, by gift, or at death. In 2019, a...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect on January 1, 2018, temporarily doubled the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions from $5 million (adjusted annually for inflation) to $10 million...more