How to Prepare for Sunset

Family Meeting

During the month of June, we are focusing on preparing for the sunset of the increased federal estate and gift tax exemption limit.  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 temporarily doubled the exemption through the end of 2025.  Although that seems like a distant deadline, there might be time sensitive details to address before being able to take advantage of the increased limit.

Meeting with your trusted advisors is the best first step when devising your estate plan.  Coordinating a family meeting to relay the plan can be a wise next step in the process.  There are many factors to consider when building an estate plan, and most of them involve the cooperation of family members.  A benefit of gathering the family together to discuss estate planning is alleviating any uncertainty for the future of multi-generational wealth. Proactively planning these details creates harmony when emotions are low and all family members are present. 

Gifting strategies should be reviewed and implemented.  Trusts should be drafted and established.  Allocations for retirement, charitable giving, and inheritance should be discussed and documented.  A plan to pay any applicable estate taxes should be established.  Concurrently, life insurance should be considered as a vehicle to help fund retirement, pay estate taxes, make donations to charity, and transfer wealth to each generation.

Contact us with any questions or opportunities to help you or your clients achieve identified goals.  This is what we enjoy doing for only a select number of families, businesses, and charitable institutions each year, and we look forward to hearing from you.