There are vast differences in how the federal estate tax varies depending on the financial dynamics that apply to each family. These are both influenced by and impact growth, values, spending, income tax rates, discounts, and many others.

Any attempt to apply common strategies without being specific to the parties involved will result in less-than-optimal planning results as well as unnecessary federal estate tax payments. More problematic is the failure to consider income tax implications. Neglecting to consider future possibilities can have a catastrophic impact on families.

This CLE course will explain the necessity of planning effectively and specifically and will present methods to illustrate complicated planning strategies and how they work, as well as potential positive and negative implications through readily available illustrations and software. The course, presented by Alan Gassman, will present several illustrations that explain estate tax planning strategies. The course will also offer best practices for designing and utilizing these strategies.

Some examples the course will illustrate and discuss include:

• qualified personal residence trusts
• the impact of paying rent after the possessory term
• installment and annuity sales to grantor trusts
• measuring and limiting or maximizing the impact of "the burn"
• use of GRATS
• making large gifts in light of the estate tax exemption being reduced to ½ in 2026