This is another in a series of blogs on the basics of estate planning. Prior to the advent of “portability,” estate planning attorneys used a “credit shelter trust” as the gold standard to preserve the estate tax exclusion of the first spouse to die. Assets up to the exclusion were placed in the trust for the benefit of the surviving spouse and descendants. The assets in this credit shelter trust pass to designated beneficiaries free from estate tax upon the death of the surviving spouse. … [Read more...] about Basics of Estate Planning: Portability vs. Credit Shelter Trust
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Missed Your Deadline to Elect Portability? Treasury to the Rescue!
Portability of a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount has been part of the Internal Revenue Code since 2010. It could not be relied upon (due to the sunset provision in the law) until the American Taxpayer Relief Act made it “permanent” (or what counts as permanent in today’s world) in 2012. In order to obtain portability, the decedent’s executor needs to file a timely-filed estate tax return, including extensions. If the decedent’s executor fails to file an estate tax return timely, … [Read more...] about Missed Your Deadline to Elect Portability? Treasury to the Rescue!
