Tax Mitigation
Estate tax rates and complexity have driven a vast array of support services to assist clients with a perceived eligibility for the estate tax to develop tax avoidance techniques. Many insurance companies maintain a network of life insurance agents, all providing financial planning services, guided towards providing death benefit that covers paying estate taxes. Many suggested techniques involve products that can be costly, though the outlay is often only a small fraction of the estate tax liability. Brokerage and financial planning firms also use estate planning, including estate tax avoidance, as a marketing technique. Many law firms also specialize in estate planning, tax avoidance, and minimization of estate taxes.
The first technique many use is to combine the tax exemption limits for a husband and wife by their testamentary documents, using what is known as a credit shelter trust. Many, but not all, other techniques recommended by those selling products with high fees, do not really avoid the estate tax, rather they claim to provide a leveraged way to have liquidity to pay for the tax at the time of death. It is very important for those whose primary wealth is in a business they own, or real estate, or stocks, to seek professional legal advice. In one technique marketed by commissioned agents, an irrevocable life insurance trust is recommended, where the parents give their children funds to pay the premiums on life insurance on the parents.
Structured in this way, life insurance proceeds can be free of estate tax. However, if the parents have a very high net worth and the life insurance policy would be inadequate in size due to the limits in premiums, a charitable remainder trust may be recommended, but should be critically reviewed. The client, however, may lose access to the asset placed in the CRUT. Proponents of the estate tax, and lobbyists for high commission financial products, argue the tax should be maintained to encourage this form of charity.
Read more about this topic: Estate Tax In The United States
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