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2012 Estate Tax Strategies



Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Product Code - TMA96
Speaker(s): Alan S. Gassman, Christopher J. Denicolo, and Kenneth J. Crotty, Gassman Law Associates, P.A.
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Ever since the passage of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), estate planners have had to deal with the uncertainty of a changing estate tax. EGTRRA repealed the estate tax in 2010 and was scheduled to reintroduce the estate tax in 2011 with smaller exemptions and higher rates. This had the effect of discouraging planners and their clients from engaging in long-term planning.

The passage of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (‘The Act’) changed the playing field, but with only a temporary two-year fix. The Act resolved the uncertainty for estates of decedents dying in 2010 by giving them a choice between no estate tax, but with carryover income tax basis, or the imposition of an estate tax with a $5,000,000 exemption and the step-up in income tax basis on death.

The temporary $5,000,000 exemption, together with a 35% tax rate, also applied to estates of those dying in 2011. This amount has been temporarily increased to $5,120,000 for 2012. This $5,120,000 exemption also applies as well to gifts and generation-skipping transfers made in 2012.

If Congress takes no action, on January 1, 2013, then the pre-EGTRRA law will return, with a $1,000,000 exclusion and a maximum 55% estate tax rate.

This presentation will focus on the opportunities offered for planners by the changes made by the Act which remain available only until December 31, 2012.

What will be covered

This live webinar will provide participants with a conceptual understanding and practical application of the following:

  • The newly issued and groundbreaking Wandry v. Commissioner Tax Court case
  • The latest CLAT Private Letter Ruling
  • The opportunities for tax-free gifting programs in 2012.
  • Utilizing valuation discounts to reduce the value of taxable gifts.
  • How the increased exemptions favor the creation of dynasty trusts.
  • Which jurisdictions are best to establish the dynasty trust.
  • Drafting exemption trusts for the benefit of spouses and the impact of the Reciprocal Trust Doctrine.
  • How and when to draft a trust so that the grantor can be a beneficiary.
  • The availability of estate tax exemption portability in 2011 and 2012
  • The pros and cons of relying on portability.
  • Utilizing grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) to transfer additional wealth.
  • The newly issued and groundbreaking Wandry v. Commissioner Tax Court case.
  • How charitable lead annuity trusts can be effectively used as estate planning mechanisms, and the effect of PLR 201216045 on charitable lead annuity trust planning.

Education Objectives

  • Learning what planning opportunities are provided by the Act.
  • Understanding which jurisdictions work best for certain irrevocable trusts.
  • Understanding how trusts can be established for the benefit of the grantor and/or the spouse of the grantor and descendants.

Participants will learn:

  • The continued merit of credit shelter trusts versus exemption portability
  • Leveraging the increased estate and gift exemptions by the use of dynasty trusts and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)
  • How to advise clients on generation-skipping transfers in 2011 and 2012
  • Why this is an opportune time to review estate plans. 

Alan S. Gassman, Christopher J. Denicolo, and Kenneth J. Crotty, Gassman Law Associates, P.A.

 Alan S. Gassman, J.D., LL.M. practices law in Clearwater, Florida. Each year he published numerous articles in publications such as BNA Tax & Accounting, Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates, The Journal of Asset Protection, and Steve Leimberg’s Asset Protection Planning Newsletters. Mr. Gassman is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, a member of the Executive Council of the Tax Section of the Florida Bar, and has been quoted on many occasions in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes Magazine, Medical Economics, Modern Healthcare, and Florida Trend magazine. He is an author, along Kenneth Crotty and Christopher Denicolo, of the BNA Tax & Accounting book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 and 2012. He is the senior partner at Gassman Law Associates, P.A. in Clearwater, Florida, which he founded in 1987.

Christopher J. Denicolo, J.D., LL.M. is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida law firm of Gassman Law Associates, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate tax and trust planning, taxation, physician representation, and corporate and business law. He is the author of several noted articles in The Florida Bar Journal, BNA Tax & Accounting, Estate Planning Magazine and Leimberg Information Services, Inc. He, Alan Gassman and Kenneth Crotty are the co-authors of the BNA book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 & 2012.

Kenneth J. Crotty, J.D., LL.M., is a partner at the Clearwater, Florida law firm of Gassman Law Associates, P.A., where he practices in the areas of estate tax and trust planning, taxation, physician representation, and corporate and business law. Mr. Crotty has co-authored several handbooks that have been published in BNA Tax & Accounting, Estate Planning, Steve Leimberg’s Estate Planning and Asset Protection Planning Newsletters and Estate Planning magazine. He, Alan Gassman and Christopher Denicolo are the co-authors of the BNA book Estate Tax Planning in 2011 & 2012.