Advanced Planning

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Once your foundational estate plan is in place, advanced strategies can help you preserve wealth, reduce taxes, and protect future generations. Whether you're planning for a high-net-worth estate, a family business, or charitable giving, these tools go beyond the basics to offer greater control, flexibility, and long-term impact. Our team works closely with you to design a customized plan that aligns with your values—and ensures your legacy endures.

Below you will find an overview of the upcoming changes to federal estate tax law, in-depth explanations of key planning strategies—including visual breakdowns—and advanced trusts you may want to consider.

What’s Happening in 2026?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed in 2017, temporarily doubled the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemptions through 2025. However, under the law’s “sunset” provision, these higher exemptions automatically drop on January 1, 2026, reverting to pre-2018 levels—roughly $5 million, adjusted for inflation to about $7 million for individuals.

  • No “clawback”: Gifts made during 2018–2025 using the higher exemption won’t be retroactively taxed—even after the reduction.
  • Action recommended: Consider accelerating estate planning strategies—like lifetime gifting, trusts, or insurance planning—to take advantage of higher exemptions before they decrease.

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Annual Gifting

Annual gifting allows individuals to give a set amount of money or assets to others each year without triggering federal gift taxes or dipping into their lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. It's a simple and effective way to reduce the size of your taxable estate while helping loved ones during your lifetime.

  • In 2025, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.
  • Married couples can combine their exclusions to gift $38,000 per recipient per year.
  • Gifts can be made to anyone—not just children or family members.
  • No IRS gift tax return is required if gifts stay within the annual limit.

Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT)

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) is an irrevocable trust one spouse—known as the donor—establishes during their lifetime, primarily for the benefit of the other spouse and possibly children or other descendants. Funded using the donor’s 2025 lifetime gift tax exemption of $13.99 million, a SLAT enables growth of gifted assets outside the taxable estate while still allowing the beneficiary spouse to receive trust income (and sometimes principal) as needed, without incurring gift or estate taxes. The donor spouse continues to pay income taxes on the trust earnings, effectively making a further tax-free contribution to the trust’s value

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  • Estate‑tax exclusion: Assets and future appreciation in the trust are excluded from the donor’s and likely the beneficiaries' estates.
  • Spousal access: The beneficiary spouse can receive trust distributions, providing financial flexibility.
  • Grantor trust status: Donor pays income tax on trust earnings—growing the trust without depleting its assets
  • Asset protection: Trust assets are generally shielded from creditors of the donor and the beneficiaries.
  • Lifetime exemption boost: In 2025, the generous $13.99 million exemption allows substantial funding of a SLAT while maximizing tax efficiency.
  • Customization & flexibility: Trust terms can permit discretionary distributions and tailor growth to beneficiaries’ changing needs.
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Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT)

An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is a legal entity created to own your life insurance policy, removing it from your taxable estate at death. When properly funded and structured—with the ILIT owning the policy—the death benefit typically isn’t subject to estate taxes. In 2025, gifts to the ILIT (used to pay policy premiums) can qualify for the $19,000 annual gift exclusion, preserving your lifetime exemption. A well-designed ILIT also offers creditor protection, estate liquidity, and the ability to fund trusts for children, grandchildren, or others without inflating your taxable estate

  • Creditor & Beneficiary Protection: Trust assets are generally shielded from creditors and can be distributed via trustee discretion.
  • Generation‑Skipping Planning: With proper structuring, an ILIT can leverage your GST exemption, benefiting grandchildren or further generations tax-efficiently.
  • Estate Tax Removal: The ILIT, not you, owns the policy—so the proceeds typically fall outside your taxable estate.
  • Annual Gift Exclusion Usage: You can gift up to $19,000 per year per beneficiary (or $38,000 if married filing together) to fund premiums without using your lifetime exemption.
  • Estate Liquidity: The death benefit provides funds to pay estate taxes, debts, or administrative costs—avoiding forced sales of assets.

Qualified Domestic Trusts (QDOT)

Your jumpstart to protecting your noncitizen spouse.

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The Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust

The most important asset protection strategy of the twenty-first century.

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The Nevada Incomplete Gift Non-Grantor Trust (NING)

A financial instrument for affluent individuals seeking to mitigate state income tax liabilities and enhance asset protection, particularly in high-tax states.

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