If you have a large estate, you should seriously consider your options to minimize the estate tax. For married couples, we may recommend two separate Trusts to maximize your estate tax savings. In that case, when the first spouse dies, his or her assets are not given directly to the survivor but are held in a special Irrevocable Trust for the survivor’s benefit. You may customize the terms of the survivor’s Trust within certain limitations imposed by the IRS.

Irrevocable Trusts, including for life insurance, are Trusts designed to minimize estate taxes essentially by removing them from your estate for estate tax purposes. As the title infers, you may not change the Trust during your lifetime and you retain little control over it.

Family Limited Partnerships ("FLP") are an effective strategy to minimize estate and gift taxes, while retaining influence over your property. Although they have come under attack in recent years, if structured and maintained properly, an FLP can afford significant tax savings over time.

There are also a variety of Charitable Trusts (including Charitable Remainder Trusts, Charitable Lead Trusts and Private Foundations) that may be utilized to substantially decrease your tax liability to the government, increase your family’s inheritance and give significant funds to a charity or charities of your choice. Often overlooked, the Charitable Trust area may provide the most extensive tax saving opportunities available.

The choice is yours to maximize your family’s inheritance and minimize the money you leave to the IRS. We are dedicated to aggressively but responsibly assisting our clients to minimize their estate tax liability. As attorneys and CPAs, we have the knowledge and experience in preparing and implementing both simple and complex estate plans with the goal of minimizing taxes.