As you may have heard, effective January 1, 2018, the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption amounts increased from $5.49 million per individual to $11.2 million, or $22.4 million per married couple. These exemption amounts apply for the next 8 years and then will revert to 2017 levels, adjusted for inflation.
What does this mean?
The increased gift exemption amount provides an opportunity to make additional lifetime gifts.
The new tax code has also given many people a reason to simplify and eliminate some of the complexity in their trusts. In addition, since the estate exemption now is so high, it is now important to focus on ways that your trusts can be designed to minimize capital gains tax. In any event, the new legislation may warrant a review of your estate planning documents.
Your estate planning attorney can help you with any questions.