Map the facts
List the people, assets, ownership, existing documents and intended transfers.
Planning transfers of family wealth
Review estate, gift, and trust tax questions with your records and legal advisers.
Last reviewed
How it works
Check tax and filing questions
Review applicable-year rules, possible filings, valuation needs and coordination with counsel.
Keep decisions documented
Maintain signed documents, valuations, filed returns, elections and trust records.
Which sounds like you?
Who this may fit
Families reviewing lifetime gifts, beneficiary arrangements, trusts, business succession or estate-tax filing obligations. A portability election is a surviving spouse’s election to use a deceased spouse’s unused exclusion amount, when requirements are met.
What to gather
- Current wills, trusts, beneficiary designations and prior gift-tax returns.
- Asset ownership, cost basis, valuations, liabilities and business records.
- Family information, intended gifts and prior transfer history.
- Appraisals, trust accounting and correspondence with legal advisers.
Risks and coordination
Exemptions, exclusions, basis, filing obligations and trust rules depend on the tax year and facts. A trust is a legal arrangement holding property under terms set by its governing document; tax consequences vary by its terms and administration.
Outdated documents, missed elections, unsupported valuations and missed filing deadlines can affect the intended treatment. Transfer-tax planning may require appraisals, Form 709 gift-tax returns or estate-tax filings, trust administration and coordination with an estate-planning attorney. Each detail page identifies its own authorities and review date.