The federal estate tax and the financial dynamics that apply to each family can vary in terms of values, growth, income tax rates, spending, discounts, and many other factors. Attempting to plan with common strategies without "running the numbers" can result in less than optimal planning results and the payment of unnecessary federal estate taxes. Furthermore, the failure to consider income tax implications and what might occur in any given situation can have a catastrophic impact on families. Additionally, it is possible to illustrate complicated planning strategies and how they work, along with possible positive and negative implications using illustrations and software that are available to practitioners.

In this 60-minute program, Alan Gassman will provide several illustrations regarding common estate tax planning strategies and discuss the best practices for designing and implementing the use of such strategies. This will include the illustration and discussion of qualified personal residence trusts and the impact of paying rent after the possessory term, installment sales and annuity sales to grantor trusts, measuring and limiting or maximizing the impact of "the burn," making the best use of GRATS, and a discussion of the best planning and illustration techniques for large gifts to be made in view of the estate tax exemption being reduced to ½ in 2026.