Tax deferral is usually good, but really only for income taxes. Generally speaking, gift and estates taxes are not minimized through deferral, and the most important consideration is usually the rate of tax to be paid, and not the timing of the tax payment.
Continue readingDaniel Evans
The decision whether to create a trust for the surviving spouse in order to minimize federal estate tax can be a difficult one, but in most cases the decision can be deferred until after a death has occurred, because the creation of the trust can be dependent on a “qualified disclaimer” by surviving spouse. This allows tax planning to be done “post mortem, but only if the will or revocable trust has been drafted to include “disclaimer trust” provisions, so that a disclaimer by the surviving spouse results in a trust for the surviving spouse.
Continue readingBy Daniel B. Evans Copyright 1993, 2003. All rights reserved. [Note: This article was originally published by the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association in Law Practice Management, Vol. 19, No. 7, p. 26 (October 1993).] I … Continue reading