It looks like Joe Biden has won the White House and the Democrats have retained control of the House. The Senate is still up for grabs and will not be known until the Georgia runoff election in January, 如果目前的预测是正确的, 共和党人将继续掌权. 要意识到这一点很重要，因为如果民主党同时拿下国会的两个分支, there is a real possibility that we see a reduction in the estate application exclusion amount. 我看过报道说免税金额可能会从11美元降下来,580,000 to $3,500,000, 这将对富裕家庭产生巨大的影响. 如果有蓝色的波浪, 这一变化最早可能在2021年年中发生，但可追溯至全年.
给那些非常富有的家庭, 这可能会导致他们在生命结束时要缴纳数百万美元的赠与税. 这是一项遗产将不得不支付给国税局的税，这意味着你的继承人的钱会减少. I haven’t met anyone that likes to pay the government more than they need to pay in taxes and I assume you are the same way.
The fol低ing items are all things we have discussed with clients in estate tax territory and something you should consider if you find yourself there. 我们有1.到年底还有5个月，所以你还有时间制定计划.
1. 授予人保留年金信托
A GRAT is an estate freezing technique to transfer appreciating assets to the next generation with little to no gift tax consequences. It works like this: an individual (grantor) establishes a GRAT and transfers investments into an irrevocable trust for a fixed length of time. The grantor retains the right to receive an annual stream of cash from the trust for the given term, 基本上就是把你投入的钱还给自己. 期限结束时剩余的任何金额都将归信托的受益人所有.
这里需要注意的是，偿还给自己的款项包括一些利息, 是由国税局规定的吗. 这个速率称为7520节速率，为0.4%(截至9月)，这是一个 历史 低. 这意味着，如果信托的资产升值超过0.4%, the beneficiaries receive all that extra growth/income and the grantor doesn’t owe any gift or estate tax.
We often prefer a “zeroed-out GRAT” that does not use any of your applicable exclusion amount at the start. We have successfully implemented GRATs for clients and they continue to be an effective estate planning tool. Here is an easy to read article from the Journal of Accountancy that was published last year on GRATs and provides numerous examples of its creative power: http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2019/oct/wealth-transfer-grantor-retained-annuity-trusts.html. 注意你一生中给受益人的数百万美元的礼物.
2. 故意瑕疵授予人信托(IDGT)
IDGT是另一种最受欢迎的遗产规划工具. A grantor establishes a trust that is “defective” for income tax purposes but “effective” for estate tax purposes. The concept is the same as a GRAT but with a couple of different nuances: (1) you are unable to “zero-out” the sale of your asset to the IDGT – you must make a ~10% minimum gift, (2) IDGT允许更多的现金流灵活性, 对于向IDGTs销售业务来说，哪些是特别重要的, and (3) the grantor does not need to survive the term of the IDGT for a tax-free gift to the beneficiaries to be recorded.
We have seen IDGTs used primarily for the transfer the business interests and property to beneficiaries while GRATs leverage easily marketable securities like stocks.
3. 家庭信托/配偶终身信托
If you are especially concerned about the Democrats taking the White House and both branches of Congress, you may want to consider establishing a SLAT before year-end (or gifting outright to your heirs). The idea here is that you can gift money to an irrevocable trust that your spouse can access at any time for any reason for the rest of his/her life. Any amount that is used before the exclusion is set to sunset in 2025 cannot be clawed back (or in 2021 if the rules are changed). 美国国税局在IR-2019-189通知中确认了这一点. This strategy makes sense if you believe you have more than enough assets to live on yet want to take advantage of the current, 适用的排除量高. We have helped clients establish these trusts and can help you think through the pros/cons of setting one up and funding it.
4. 家族有限责任公司
A family-owned LLC is a powerful tool for managing your assets and passing them along to your children. 一旦建立，你可以投入投资和财产. You can maintain control over your estate by assigning yourself as the manager of the LLC and then s低ly gift shares of the LLC to your children and grandchildren. 既然你是有限责任公司的经理, 你的孩子不是管理成员, the value of the units you transfer to them can be discounted steeply for estate tax purposes due to lack of marketability, 可转移性, 以及有限责任公司的控制权(因为你拥有所有有投票权的股份). 我见过30%以上的折扣. 如果家里有一个挥金如土的人，这是保持资产完整的另一种方法.
5. 捐赠顾问基金
如果你愿意，在年底前建立DAF是最受欢迎的. You are able to bunch multiple years of charitable gifts into one year to take advantage of an elevated tax write off, 但在未来的岁月里给慈善机构的礼物. 大多数客户在70岁之前都使用DAF.5, then start giving to charity directly from their IRA via a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). 以下是我在2018年就这个话题写的一篇文章，提供了更详细的内容: http://h8egqd.bg-cycles.com/a-good-time-to-consider-a-donor-advised-fund/.
另外两件事可能会有所帮助:
- We recently helped a client think through the decision of setting up a private foundation vs. 捐赠机构建议基金. 捐赠方建议基金之所以胜出，仅仅是因为它易于使用和缺乏管理.
- 有慈善倾向的企业主, 不要忘记，你可以在出售之前捐赠一部分业务给慈善机构. 这可以让你认识到礼物的全部价值，而不用为那部分支付任何税, 哪一种可以帮你省下几十万美元的税.
These are just a few ways we help families with net worth’s in the high seven figures and above plan for their assets now and in the future. 房地产法律会发生变化，你应该确保你的计划能适应这些变化. 与收费的受托理财顾问合作，他们可以提供帮助.
