I don't consider myself to be an expert on Estate Planning - I would refer serious inquiries about Estate Planning to other professionals, but I am trying to keep abreast of changes to tax policy and different asset sheltering strategies. Michael Kitces at the nerd's eye view blogs about 3 Estate Planning Strategies that May Die Soon. It is pretty amazing to see the number of tax avoidance strategies that are legal under the current tax code. I think it is axiomatic that the higher the tax rate, the greater the number of loopholes. But a number of these loopholes are being targeted as ways to close the huge budget deficit of the U.S. Government.
According to Kitces, at risk are "Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs), both popular strategies to "freeze" the value of hopefully-rapidly-appreciatingassets for transfer to the next generation. In addition, the new rules on portability - currently temporary, but likely to become permanent at some point in the future - threaten the even more popular and common estate planning strategy, the bypass trust." A must read for anyone interacting with High Net Worth individuals.
According to Kitces, at risk are "Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs), both popular strategies to "freeze" the value of hopefully-rapidly-appreciatingassets for transfer to the next generation. In addition, the new rules on portability - currently temporary, but likely to become permanent at some point in the future - threaten the even more popular and common estate planning strategy, the bypass trust." A must read for anyone interacting with High Net Worth individuals.
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