What to giveth before Congress taketh away.

Opportunities never seem as bright as when they are about to be lost, and now is as intense a time as we have seen before for estate tax planning.

The most effective estate tax avoidance techniques are in the cross-hairs of a vast majority of the Democratic senators and congressmen, as made clear by the House Ways and Means Committee bill that was released on Monday, September 13.

At stake is a reduction of the $11,700,000 estate tax exemption to one half of what it would otherwise be after the annual inflation adjustment effective on January 1, 2022. Additionally, the loss of the ability to take discounts on non-business assets and the loss of the ability to form and fund irrevocable trusts that can be disregarded for federal income tax purposes (effective on the date of enactment of such a law) will cause significant and unavoidable estate tax liability for a great many families who would have otherwise avoided such taxes.

While most affluent taxpayers are aware of how grantor trusts and installment sales work (and have completed or are in the process of completing whatever can be done in the short amount of time that may remain), many taxpayers, and even good advisors, are not familiar with how the three "use it or lose it" planning techniques work and how they may apply to their situation if implemented before being legislated out of existence.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the Qualified Personal Residence Trust


• Review the Grantor Retained Annuity Trust


• Summarize the Lifetime Income Tax Deductible Charitable Lead Annuity Trust


• Determine techniques for making gifts before the new law passes that may be reversed if the law does not pass