Good advice in this article, but much of the uncertainty can be removed with thorough, comprehensive planning with an eye toward flexibility.
For example, in our planning (http://Protect.LIFE), we offer not only the current flexibility of the Clayton election, but in the unlikely event the estate tax is completely repealed and QTIP’s are no longer “a thing” then we have several fallback alternatives including limited testamentary powers of appointment allowing trigger of something called the “Delaware Tax Trap” (which sounds scary but may be quite helpful), and language allowing a trust protector to make certain changes such as granting limited and general powers of appointment.
In a “friendly” family situation, the resulting issues with how assets are unintentionally allocated under a new tax regime might be resolved amicably by using a combination of disclaimers and having beneficiaries alter the disposition under a will or revocable trust by agreement (assuming that the rights of creditors and tax authorities are unaffected). However, in strained or complex family settings that abound, this could cause uncertainty and result in protracted litigation.
Source: Repeal and Uncertainty Impacts Estate Administration
Go right now to http://Protect.LIFE if you want to experience real, comprehensive estate planning (no cost, no obligation).
