High Interest Rates Have an Impact on Estate Planning – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

The Section 7520 rate has been low for the past 15 years and presented many opportunities for good planning. What happens when inflation has returned and rates are moving up, asks a recent article titled “Estate Planning Techniques in a High—Interest—Rate Environment” from Bloomberg Tax – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning.

The Section 7520 rate is the interest rate for a particular month as determined by the IRS. It is 120 percent of the applicable federal midterm rate (compounded annually) for the month in which the valuation date falls and rounded to the nearest two-tenths of a percent. It is used for actuarial planning, to discount the value of annuities, life estates and remainders to present value, and is revised monthly.

In January 2022, the 7520 rate was at 1.6%, but as interest rates increased, it shot up and in December 2022 was 5.2%. This was a 225% increase—unprecedented in the history of the 7520 rates. However, there are four key planning concepts which may make 2023 a little brighter for estate planning attorneys and their clients.

Higher inflation equals higher exemptions. Certain inflation adjusted exemptions and exclusions increased on January 1, 2023. The federal transfer tax exemption rose by $860,000 to $12.92 million, and the annual gift tax exclusion increased to $17,000 from $16,000 in 2022.

These increases give wealthy families the opportunity to make generous new gifts to family members without triggering any transfer taxes. Those who have fully used transfer tax exemptions may wish to consider making additional transfers.

Shift charitable giving to CRTs for higher interest rates. People who might have started Charitable Lead Trusts should instead look at Charitable Remainder Trusts. With both CLTs and CRTs, the value of the income and remainder interests are calculated using the 7520 rates. The key difference, for estate planning purposes, is the impact of a rising rate on the amount of the available charitable deduction.

The return of the QPRT. Qualified Personal Residence Trusts have been hibernating for years because of low interest rates. However, the time has come to return them to use for wealth transfer. A QPRT lets a person transfer a residence at a discounted value, while retaining the right to occupy the residence for a number of years. The 7520 rate is used to determine the value of the owner’s retained interest. The higher the rate, the more value retained by the owner and the smaller the amount of the taxable gift to the remainder beneficiaries, usually the owner’s children.

GRATs still have value. A Grantor Remainder Trust should still be considered in estate planning. A GRAT is more appealing in a low interest environment. However, a GRAT can still be useful when rates are rising. The success or failure of the GRAT usually depends on whether the assets transferred to the GRAT appreciate in value at a rate exceeding the 7520 rates, since the excess appreciation is transferred to the remainder beneficiaries’ gift tax-free. A GRAT can also be structured as a zeroed-out GRAT. This means that the transfer of assets to the GRAT doesn’t use any of the grantor’s transfer tax exemption or result in any gift tax due. This is still of value to a person who owns assets with significant growth potential, like securities likely to rebound quickly from depressed 2022 values.  Contact us to review your estate plan with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys.

Reference: Bloomberg Tax (Dec. 23, 2022) “Estate Planning Techniques in a High—Interest—Rate Environment”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Read more about the article What Happens When Gift and Estate Tax Exemptions Change? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

What Happens When Gift and Estate Tax Exemptions Change? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

The federal lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion will increase for inflation in 2023 to $12.93 million.  There may be similar increases for inflation in 2024 and 2025, according to a recent article from Think Advisor titled “The Estate and Gift Tax Exclusion Shrinks in 2026. What’s an Advisor to Do?”

This is the good news for wealthy Americans. However, there’s bad news in the near future. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, these historically high levels will end on December 31, 2025. Estate and gift exclusions will drop to the pre-2017 level of $5 million, adjusted for inflation. Estimates for 2026 vary, but most expect the amount may reach $6.8 million per person.

For Americans who saw the value of their homes and portfolios increase in the last ten years, this level becomes uncomfortably close when considering the overall value of their estate. Here’s some help on how to minimize estate taxes in coming years.

What is the Estate and Gift Tax Exclusion in 2023?

Every year the annual estate and gift tax exclusion is adjusted for inflation. Gifts at or below this amount are not counted towards your lifetime exemption. For example, in 2022, the annual exclusion was $16,000 and in 2023, it is $17,000.

If you haven’t made any gifts to remove assets from your estate before 2026, your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption will revert to 2026 levels. If you made gifts prior to 2026, several different scenarios may apply.

If the amount of your gift was less than the exemption amount in place in 2026 or beyond, your remaining exclusion will be the amount of the exemption minus the amount of your lifetime gifts. Let’s say the exclusion is $6.8 million and you’ve given $3 million in lifetime gifts. The remaining exclusion would be $3.8 million. Any gifts over this amount would be subject to estate taxes.

If the amount of your gifts before 2026 exceeded the limit in place, the exemptions from the old limits will apply to those gifts. However, there won’t be any additional exemptions. Here’s an example: if you made $9 million in gifts before 2026, this would be your exemption amount upon your death. There would be no additional exemption for 2026 or beyond, unless the inflation-adjusted exemption exceeded $9 million in the future.

To be blunt, the higher exemption amounts in place are “use it or lose it.” Any difference between the higher exemption amounts and the post-2025 reduced amounts will be lost if not used. Any gifts made in excess of the higher exemptions in place before 2026 will still fall under the higher exemption upon death.

There are steps to be taken to reduce your taxable estate and make the most of the current limits. Which steps to take depends on the size of the estate, the nature of heirs, marital status, health status and other factors.

One strategy is to spend down assets. Take the big vacations, travel to out-of-town sporting events, enjoy the wealth you worked so hard to accumulate. This lifestyle can add up over time and fit in with an overall plan of minimizing your taxable estate.

Gifting to charity is another excellent way to reduce the size of a taxable estate while building a legacy. Current-year gifts of cash appreciated securities and other assets can provide a tax deduction to also reduce current year income taxes. Contact us to speak with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys about using a Donor Advised Fund, Charitable Lead Trust, or Charitable Remainder Trust.

If you are married, assets left to a surviving spouse have no estate tax consequences, except for a non-citizen spouse, who may not benefit from the unlimited marital deduction rules. One option is for the surviving spouse to elect to take the decedent spouse’s unused lifetime exclusion.

Reference: Think Advisor (Dec. 7, 2022) “The Estate and Gift Tax Exclusion Shrinks in 2026. What’s an Advisor to Do?”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What Should I Know about Charitable Gifts? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Sometimes as individuals and families increase in wealth, they want to give more to charities.

Some charitable donations may be tax deductible or be able to reduce tax liabilities. Let’s look at some suggestions if you decide you want to make charitable donations, according to WMUR’s recent article entitled “Money Matters: Considerations when making charitable gifts.”

First, it might be the time to establish a giving plan. The first step is to decide how much your family wants to give. When researching a charity, look at how the contributions will be used. Charity Navigator, a charity assessment organization, has a site to help you get started at charitynavigator.org. Each charity has a rating with additional information.

Besides annual giving, charitable giving can play a role in estate planning. Your estate planning documents can state these wishes, and sometimes, giving can reduce estate taxes. The federal government taxes wealth transfers during life and at death. Currently, these types of taxes are imposed on lifetime transfers exceeding $12.06 million per spouse at a top rate of 40%. States may also impose these types of taxes. Ask an experienced estate planning attorney about it.

To give to charity, you could include a bequest in your will or trust. Another option is to name a charity as a beneficiary on life insurance policies. Retirement plans such as IRAs, 401(k)s, and 403(b)s may also have a charity listed as beneficiary. If these plans are tax-deferred, then an advantage to using them to make charitable gifts is that a charity can get money tax-free that would otherwise be taxed.

You might also ask an estate planning attorney about a charitable lead or a charitable remainder trust.

Another option for giving is to use donor-advised funds, which gives the donor the tax benefit for making the gift all in one year but the option to make the actual gift later on.

A donor-advised fund is particularly useful for taxpayers who itemize deductions. This is an agreement between the donor and a host organization, which then becomes the legal owner of the assets.

You can tell the fund how to invest the contribution and how the money is disbursed. The fund controls the assets but usually will honor the donor’s requests.

Finally, you could set up a private family foundation. These are more complex but give you and your family control over the investment and distribution of the money. They work best when a significant amount of money is involved.

Reference: WMUR (Dec. 30, 2021) “Money Matters: Considerations when making charitable gifts”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Should I have a Charitable Trust in My Estate Plan? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Charitable trusts can be created to provide a reliable income stream to you and your beneficiaries for a set period of time, says Bankrate’s recent article entitled “What is a charitable trust?”

Establishing a charitable trust can be a critical component of your estate plan and a rewarding way to make an impact for a cause you care deeply about. There are a few kinds of charitable trusts to consider based on your situation and what you may be looking to accomplish.

Charitable lead trust. This is an irrevocable trust that is created to distribute an income stream to a designated charity or nonprofit organization for a set number of years. It can be established with a gift of cash or securities made to the trust. Depending on the structure, the donor can benefit from a stream of income during the life of the trust, deductions for gift and estate taxes, as well as current year income tax deductions when the assets are donated to the trust.

If the charitable lead trust is funded with a donation of cash, the donor can claim a deduction of up to 60% of their adjusted gross income (AGI), and any unused deductions can generally be carried over into subsequent tax years. The deduction limit for appreciated securities or other assets is limited to no more than 30% of AGI in the year of the donation.

At the expiration of the charitable lead trust, the assets that remain in the trust revert back to the donor, their heirs, or designated beneficiaries—not the charity.

Charitable remainder trust. This trust is different from a charitable lead trust. It is an irrevocable trust that is funded with cash or securities. A CRT gives the donor or other beneficiaries an income stream with the remaining assets in the trust reverting to the charity upon death or the expiration of the trust period. There are two types of CRTs:

  1. A charitable remainder annuity trust or CRAT distributes a fixed amount as an annuity each year, and there are no additional contributions can be made to a CRAT.
  2. A charitable remainder unitrust or CRUT distributes a fixed percentage of the value of the trust, which is recalculated every year. Additional contributions can be made to a CRUT.

Here are the steps when using a CRT:

  1. Make a partially tax-deductible donation of cash, stocks, ETFs, mutual funds or non-publicly traded assets, such as real estate, to the trust. The amount of the tax deduction is a function of the type of CRT, the term of the trust, the projected annual payments (usually stated as a percentage) and the IRS interest rates that determine the projected growth in the asset that is in effect at the time.
  2. Receive an income stream for you or your beneficiaries based on how the trust is created. The minimum percentage is 5% based on current IRS rules. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly or annually.
  3. After a designated time or after the death of the last remaining income beneficiary, the remaining assets in the CRT revert to the designated charity or charities.

There are a number of benefits of a charitable trust that make them attractive for estate planning and other purposes. It is a tax-efficient way to donate to the charities or nonprofit organizations of your choosing. The charitable trust provides benefits to the charity and the donor. The trust also provides upfront income tax benefits to the donor, when the contribution to the trust is made.

Donating highly appreciated assets, such as stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, to the charitable trust can help avoid paying capital gains taxes that would be due if these assets were sold outright.  Donations to a charitable trust can also help to reduce the value of your estate and reduce estate taxes on larger estates.

However, charitable trusts do have some disadvantages. First, they are irrevocable, so you cannot undo the trust if your situation changes, and you were to need the money or assets donated to the trust. When you establish and fund the trust, the money is no longer under your control and the trust cannot be revoked.

A charitable trust may be a good option if you have a desire to create a legacy with some of your assets. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney about your specific situation.

Reference: Bankrate (Dec. 14, 2021) “What is a charitable trust?”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How Can We Do Estate Planning in the Pandemic? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

We can see the devastating impact the coronavirus has had on families and the country. However, if we let ourselves dwell on only a few areas of our lives that we can control, the pandemic has given us some estate and financial planning opportunities worth evaluating, says The New Hampshire Business Review’s recent article entitled “Estate planning in a crisis.”

Unified Credit. The unified credit against estate and gift tax is still a valuable estate-reduction tool that will probably be phased out. This credit is the amount that a person can pass to others during life or at death, without generating any estate or gift tax. It is currently $11,580,000 per person. Unless it is extended, on January 1, 2026, this credit will be reduced to about 50% of what it is today (with adjustments for inflation). It may be wise for a married couple to use at least one available unified credit for a current gift. By leveraging a unified credit with advanced planning discount techniques and potentially reduced asset values, it may provide a very valuable “once in a lifetime” opportunity to reduce future estate tax.

Reduced Valuations. For owners of closely-held companies who would like to pass their business to the next generation, there is an opportunity to gift all or part of your business now at a value much less than what it would have been before the pandemic. A lower valuation is a big plus when trying to transfer a business to the next generation with the minimum gift and estate taxes.

Taking Advantage of Low Interest Rates. Today’s low rates make several advanced estate planning “discount” techniques more attractive. This includes grantor retained annuity trusts, charitable lead annuity trusts, intra-family loans and intentionally defective grantor trusts. The discount element that many of these techniques use, is tied to the government’s § 7520 rate, which is linked to the one-month average of the market yields from marketable obligations, like T-bills with maturities of three to nine years. For many of these, the lower the Sect. 7520 rate, the better the discount the technique provides.

Bargain Price Transfers. The reduced value of stock portfolios and other assets, like real estate, may give you a chance to give at reduced value. Gifting at today’s lower values does present an opportunity to efficiently transfer assets from your estate, and also preserve estate tax credits and exclusions.

Reference: New Hampshire Business Review (May 21, 2020) “Estate planning in a crisis”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys