Are there any planning opportunities to reduce the estate tax for a married couple?
The federal estate tax is potentially the largest tax that most people will ever confront, with a flat rate of 45%. It is, however, also the one tax that can most easily be minimized. Substantial estate tax savings opportunities are available by applying conventional estate planning techniques to a given individual’s estate. The federal estate tax is a tax on all transfers of assets made at death. An individual’s taxable estate consists, therefore, of all assets owned outright by the decedent at the time of his or her death, but also includes assets in which the decedent was deemed to have sufficient incidents of ownership and/or control to cause those assets to be included in the taxable estate. The federal estate tax will also reach assets that were given away in contemplation of death, life insurance policies in which the decedent had an incident of ownership, Trusts created by the decedent over which he or she retained administrative control or power, joint tenancies or other joint
