Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Matthew F. Erskine is a trusts and estates attorney. As the 2025 legislative session unfolds, wealthy families, their advisors ...

Gift Your Money While You're Alive … Wisely You might not have to worry about estate tax planning if you simply give away your money while you're alive. As of 2023, the IRS allows individuals to ...

From a gift and estate tax planning perspective, economic downturns offer unique leverage, allowing clients to transfer wealth more efficiently, reduce estate tax exposure, and position themselves ...

Unfortunately, estate planners have often taken that quote to heart and acted as though estate planning is fundamentally about death and the avoidance of a resulting death tax. To the contrary ...

Map out your family's future and leave a legacy with well-drawn wills, the right types of trusts, and careful estate planning ... grantor’s estate for estate tax purposes, which can offer ...

Estate planning ... to begin your estate planning. Even if you're young and your assets are limited, it's essential to start making a plan. When you inherit stock, the tax laws can give you ...

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Even if a client's net worth is under the federal estate tax exemption limits, financial advisors can help their high-net-worth clients minimize taxes by planning ahead and implementing certain ...

This potential for uncertainty underscores the need for flexibility in the seemingly black-and-white world of estate planning and the tax-efficient transfer of wealth. A gift needs to be ...

But tax and retirement planning expert Ed Slott argues that the accounts can be useful in the context of estate planning, too. He’s here to share his perspective. Ed, thanks so much for being here.

From extending the tax cuts he signed into law in 2017 to ending taxes on tips, overtime pay, Social Security benefits and more, President Donald Trump has never made a secret of his goal to make ...