Insights

Many people use Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) for tax-efficient charitable giving during their lifetime. See our article here on what a Donor Advised Fund is, and how it can improve efficiency and reduce taxes for charitably inclined individuals.

On December 31^st 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doubled the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption from around $5.5M to about $11M. This higher exemption amount has continued to increase indexed for inflation and the exemption in 2021 is $11.7M. After 2025, the TCJA is set to ‘sunset’ and the exemption reverts to pre-2018 levels, adjusted for inflation, for an estimated future exemption amount of $6.8M.

Interest rates are at historically low levels, which means right now is an opportune time for you to use certain estate planning strategies. If you have a large estate, you can take advantage of the current low interest rate environment to shrink your future estate-tax liabilities.

Are you fearful about your finances during this time? COVID-19 and other current events have created financial uncertainty. While you might focus mainly on your investment portfolio, don’t forget about estate planning 101 tools like trusts, wills, power of attorneys (POAs), and advance directives.

The level of complexity involved with the transfer of wealth or assets can vary greatly depending on the decedent’s assets, the establishment of an estate plan or Will, whether the decedent has dependents who need to be cared for, the location of their assets or property, and plenty of other factors.