The Tsunami Continues to Roll In
As much estate planning as was required in 2020, the prospects of massive changes to the tax law means that even more should be undertaken this year. This program will discuss some of the more important changes that will soon be considered in Washington, from increases in income tax rates, taxing long term capital gains as ordinary income, greatly increasing the social security taxes individuals pay, limiting the benefit of deductions to 28% and a reintroducing of the Pease deduction limitation. In addition to potentially reducing the estate, gift and GST tax exemptions and increasing the rates for those tax regimes, many other limitations to curb effective wealth transfer tax planning may be adopted, including effectively killing GRATs, limiting annual exclusions to $20,000 per donor (and not per donee) and making grantor trusts be included in the gross estate of the grantor. Perhaps, most significant may be the elimination of the tax free step up in basis at death, with a carryover basis or gain recognition at death regime.
Mr. Blattmachr is the Director of Estate Planning at Peak Trust Company. He is recognized as one of the most creative trusts and estates lawyers in the country and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He has written and lectured extensively on estate and trust taxation and charitable giving. Mr. Blattmachr graduated from Columbia University School of Law cum laude, where he was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and received his A.B. degree from Bucknell University, majoring in mathematics. He has served as a lecturer-in-law of the Columbia University School of Law and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University Law School in its Masters in Tax Program (LLM). He is a former chairperson of the Trusts & Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and of several committees of the American Bar Association. Mr. Blattmachr is a Fellow and a former Regent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and past chair of its Estate and Gift Tax Committee. He is author or co-author of five books and more than 400 articles on estate planning and tax topics.
