Running Head: ESTATE PLAN g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g g 1
Milestone 1: The Basic Estate Plan
SNHU
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Introduction to an estate planning strategy
Estate planning is the most important part of the preparation tasks collection that helps
to manage an asset base of an individual in the event of their death or incapacitation,
including the settlement of estate taxes and the bequest of assets to heirs. It has been found
that the estate can be taxed at a 40% high rate for not having proper estate planning, which
can result in very high taxes for individuals with high wealth (CDFA, 2023). In the present
case, the client owns a company with $1 billion of fair market value. Here, if the client is not
planning their estate in a proper way, then it could result in paying nearly $400 million of
estate taxes by the estate upon death. It has been identified that many estate planning
strategies are there for high-wealth individuals to avoid gift taxes and paying estate, including
limited family partnerships, life insurance policies, establishing charitable trusts, gifting
assets during their lifetime, and a revocable living trust (CDFA, 2023). Thus, it becomes
important for the client to consult with a professional and experienced estate planning
attorney in the real estate industry to determine the right approach for the specific condition.
In general, the estate covers your house, life insurance, bank accounts, personal
property, and other investments. A client needs to consider all these items while looking for
the estate planning strategy so that it can be equally disbursed. The limited exemption
equivalent can make an individual leave another before incurring estate taxes (DuCharme et
al., 2019). For instance, if the client is married to someone, then they can get double the
amount as up to $11.4 million can be received by an individual tax-free, which can lead to a
total of $22.8 million. Similarly, in case you may leave your estate to your two children and
give your business 10% to a third party, then the exemption equivalent would reach $68.4
million, which is the lower estate amount. In such a scenario, it is always a better decision to
specify the client's wishes through a will that can administer the estate.
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Another great estate strategy could be life insurance policies that will allow the client
to avoid estate taxes and provide you with several options to leave money for your children.
At the same time, the client needs to select a beneficiary while setting the life insurance so
that the beneficiary amount will be paid to the person upon the client's death. Another great
option could be transferring the life insurance policy to your children, but if the individual is
living for more than three years after the process of transfer, then the value will not be added
to the estate (Miller & Maine, 2020). Here, the person needs to ensure that the insurance
policy is purchased by one child who can insure them. For example, if the client is making
payments under $30,000 per year and paying the insurance premiums, then it will be
considered a non-taxable gift payment. In case the client cannot transfer the policy or does not
have the life insurance policy, then it will be considered tax-free and part of your estate
(DuCharme et al., 2019). It has been identified that the client can take advantage of tax
exclusions by transferring property or assets as gifts during their life to their friends, family,
or charities. In the case of a married client, it is possible to transfer estates without tax liability
to the spouse. Moreover, the client needs to ensure that the spouse is in a lower position
before doing this. Transferring the estate of the spouse to the heirs can help the client to pay
fewer taxes on the inheritances. If the client wants to give 10% of the business to a third party,
then the process should be conducted sooner as it can lower the fair market value of their
estate and business.
Introduction to the utilization of limited family partnerships
When focusing on long-term estate planning, it would be wise to create a family
limited partnership. This FLP is a type of partnership that is specially designed to centralize
investment accounts or family businesses by pooling the family assets together into a single
partnership where all the family members have their shares (Vlahos, 2018). If a family limited
partnership is utilized, then it can offer a limited partnership interest in the company to
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maintain its control. Here, the client's organization could invest in different commercial and
residential properties. The client's home will be covered by the company, so the company's
growth can be ensured with the mortgage payments. Likely, it will be possible to pay taxes on
the fair market value to the third party and the children. This way, the client can give $30,000
tax-free worth to their children as a family limited partnership interest.
References
CDFA, C. (2023). How Portability Can Be an Impactful Estate Planning Strategy. Journal of
Financial Planning, 36(2), 64-67.
CDFA, C. (2023). Prenuptial Agreements and How They Affect Estate Planning. Journal of
Financial Planning, 36(4), 48-51.
DuCharme, J., Rodgers, J., Teague, L. J., Weiant, L., Wigley, M., & Zhang, Y. (2019). Tax
Violations. Am. Crim. L. Rev., 56, 1477.
Wealth Transfer Tax Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. BYU L. Rev., 46, 1411.
Vlahos, Lou. "Family Limited Partnerships – They're Still Out There (?)." Tax Law for the
Closely Held Business, 30 Oct. 2018, https://www.taxlawforchb.com/2018/10/family-
limitedpartnerships-theyre-still-out-there/.