Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 04 DECEMBER 2017

Trust And Estate Planning 2017 Year End Update

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP
Contributor
Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

We have one of the largest Southeast Asia international law practices, working across the region...

View firm profile
Explore more from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP

As we approach the end of the year, we thought you would find it useful to have the following summary of recent developments and updates that may affect your trust and estate planning.

United StatesTax
Cheryl E. Hader
Cheryl E. Hader
Avigail Goldglancz
Avigail Goldglancz
Monika Jain
Monika Jain
Author LinkedIn connections

As we approach the end of the year, we thought you would find it useful to have the following summary of recent developments and updates that may affect your trust and estate planning.

1. Proposed federal tax law changes

As you may know, the House and Senate are working on revisions of the current federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes as well as of other tax laws. Under both proposed tax plans, the current $5.49 million federal gift, estate and GST exemption amount would be doubled. In addition, a proposal from the House would eliminate the estate and GST taxes in their entirety in 2024. Given the current uncertainty, high-net-worth individuals have an increased tendency to "wait and see" what the future will bring before engaging in the estate planning process. Recognizing that waiting to plan for the future is not a good strategy for managing risk or for reducing possible transfer taxes that may nevertheless be assessed, we have been

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

View source

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

GENIUS Act Crypto Tax Guide 2025-2026: What US Investors, Businesses, And Taxpayers Need To Know About The New Stablecoin Law, Form 1099-DA, And Digital Asset Regulation

The United States cryptocurrency regulatory landscape has undergone its most dramatic transformation in history. The signing of the GENIUS Act into law on July 18, 2025 — the first comprehensive federal crypto statute ever enacted — marks a before-and-after moment for American digital asset law.
United StatesTax
Rotfleisch & Samulovitch P.C.
Rotfleisch & Samulovitch P.C.
Article

A 5% Wealth Tax? Preparing Clients For California's Billionaire Tax Act

California's proposed Billionaire Tax Act would impose a onetime 5% excise tax on individuals and trusts with assets exceeding $1 billion, creating unprecedented challenges for estate planners. The retroactive application and anti-abuse provisions raise critical questions about the treatment of grantor trusts, non-grantor trusts, and beneficiary interests that deviate significantly from established federal wealth transfer tax principles.
United StatesTax
Withers LLP
Withers LLP
Article

IRS Proposes New Racial Nondiscrimination Regulations For Tax-exempt Private Schools

The US Treasury and IRS have proposed regulations that would eliminate longstanding exceptions allowing tax-exempt private schools to maintain race-conscious admissions and scholarship policies. Following the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, these rules would apply to all private educational institutions, including K-12 schools not directly affected by that ruling, and could result in loss of tax-exempt status for noncompliance.
United StatesTax
McDermott Will & Schulte
McDermott Will & Schulte