Don’t Be Tempted By Pop-Up Estate Planning Schemes

Stick with the basics when preparing for the high exemption sunset.

With football season and the end of the estate tax exemption fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time to get back to basics. I bring this up because we have less than 16 months before the generous estate tax exemption limits sunset at the end of 2025. Clients who haven’t started their estate planning are running a two-minute drill. When the pressure’s on, and the clock is ticking against you, it’s tempting to seek trust shortcuts and various charitable giving schemes that have been popping up lately to get money out of an estate. Don’t get drawn offside. If the strategies sound too good to be true, they probably are.

Now more than ever, stick with basic, proven strategies. Because if you must unwind a broken trust or hastily assembled gift, it can be significantly more expensive to fix and require some unpleasant huddles with the IRS. Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi once said: “I don’t care about [fancy] formations or new offenses or tricks on defense. If you block and tackle better than the team, you’re going to win.”

Regardless of which party inherits the White House, we don’t know if any of the proposed legislation will pass. Rest assured, exemption limits will most likely be reduced and not raised. If you don’t help your clients take advantage of the historically generous estate tax exemption limit before it changes, you could miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your clients may never have another chance to get this much money out of their estate free of tax.

Good trust crafters can make plans as flexible as possible. They’re skilled at getting assets out of your clients’ taxable estates through charitable giving while still protecting clients and allowing them to access their assets. However, a well-designed plan doesn’t happen overnight, and every decent estate planner I know is up to their eyeballs at work. Don’t wait until the last minute.

For more, see: https://www.wealthmanagement.com/estate-planning/don-t-be-tempted-pop-estate-planning-schemes

Arthur H. Geffen

Attorney & Counselor at Law

17330 Preston Rd., Suite 200D-260

Dallas. TX 75252

469-442-2640

214-447–0241 FAX

www.dallasestateattorney.com

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