Personal Planning Strategies

Act Now Before the Window of Opportunity Closes

By now you have probably heard that the House Ways and Means Committee introduced legislation a few weeks ago (see Let the Estate Tax Planning Games Begin - But Where Will They Land - the House Ways and Committee Has Spoken) that would essentially curtail the use of "grantor trusts" after the "date of enactment" of the proposed law. At this time, it is impossible to predict whether the legislation will pass and what it will look like if it does. However, if it passes in current proposed form, the grantor of a grantor trust would no longer be able to make gifts to such a trust or engage in transactions with such a trust, such as a "swap" of assets with the trust or a sale of assets to the trust for a note.