Under the new estate tax law changes, clients may not be aware that we can now help them pass more wealth to the next generation and to charities.

What Changes Have Been Made to the Estate Tax Law?

So, under the new tax reform act, they made some changes to the estate tax exemption amounts. Before, an individual could pass away with $5.6 million worth of assets without having to pay estate taxes on that. Now, under the new law, they doubled that exemption, and it’s now $11 million for an individual and $22 million for a married couple.

Who Can Take Advantage of These Estate Tax Law Changes?

Clients that have done planning before should come in for a review to see if there’s an opportunity for them to take advantage of these additional estate tax law changes and exemptions that they now have in order to transfer some wealth to the next generation or to a charity if they wish. The new exemptions impact estate planning for clients who may have either done estate planning before and used their exemptions and now have another exemption amount that they can use. Clients that haven’t done any sort of planning, and are maybe family business owners, and are looking into potentially transferring some of their shares to the second of third generation of the family, or clients that wish to make large charitable gifts now have this larger exemption to give to their favorite organization or set up a foundation or set up a trust.