An estate freeze fixes the value of the asset that is frozen,
such as shares of a corporation, in the hands of the owner until
the time of death, allowing the freezor to calculate the expected
tax liability that arises on death.
A further benefit of an estate freeze is the accrual of the
post-freeze growth in value in the hands of other persons, usually
the owner's family. This makes the estate freeze an effective
way of transferring value to the future generation, and hopefully,
defer the tax that would accrue on the future growth to the time
that the asset is sold by the persons who are to benefit from the
future growth.
Under certain circumstances, the receiving family member may be
able to claim the lifetime capital gains exemption, so that the
tax-saving based on that exemption can be multiplied among several
family members when the shares the family member receives in the
course of the estate freeze transaction qualify as shares of a
"qualified small business
