Practice Subgroup

Estate and gift tax-minimizing planning

Estate and gift tax liabilities -both federal and state- can severely impair wealth transfer from one generation to the next. As such, our attorneys focus on transferring assets at the lowest possible tax cost through advanced and proactive planning.

Gift tax liability is imposed on the donor, thereby increasing the tax-cost of your gift. To mitigate these expenses, our attorneys have developed sophisticated strategies to leverage the annual gift tax exclusion. For example, through use of vehicles such as family limited partnerships and limited liability companies, we utilize "valuation discounts" enabling clients to transfer greater value at no additional tax-cost. We also work with our clients to create tailored and appropriate uses of the lifetime gift tax exemption.

Estate tax liability is imposed on the estate of a decedent, thereby decreasing the amount of assets passing to beneficiaries and heirs. To combat these asset reductions, we devise custom estate plans to maximize the estate tax exemption upon death. Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. has extensive experience in estate tax minimization tools such as:

-installment sales to grantor trusts
-irrevocable life insurance trusts
-qualified personal residence trusts
-charitable remainder trusts
-charitable lead trusts
-grantor retained annuity trusts
-family limited partnerships
-limited liability companies
-annuity arbitrage transactions
-QTIP trusts for state estate tax purposes

Estate and gift tax is a dynamic area of taxation. Our attorneys understand the complexities and changes, and find appropriate solutions to produce significant tax savings for our clients.