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Many advisors focus on the “Great Wealth Transfer”, estimated to be around $124 trillion through 2048, projected to shift assets from Baby Boomers to their heirs. However, of this amount, approximately $54 trillion is expected to first be passed through inter-spousal transfers to widows, of which more than 95% is expected to go to women. Advisors should prepare married couples for intentionally transferring wealth through titling of assets, making irrevocable lifetime gifts, and structuring inheritances at death through trusts and outright bequests. This session will review the federal estate and gift tax exemption under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (including the effects of any potential sunset or revision thereto), explore some of the various types of trusts for the benefit of a spouse, and discuss some common hypotheticals for planning for these married couples. With intentional and holistic planning, married couples can thoughtfully prepare, plan and protect for their future, especially upon the death of the first of them to die.
Brian M. Balduzzi is a Senior Associate in the Private Client Services Group at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in its Philadelphia, Princeton, and New York offices. Brian specializes in sophisticated estate and wealth transfer planning, helping business owners and their families prepare for transitions, exits and succession. He also advises clients on estate, gift, income and generation-skipping tax exemption strategies, charitable planning, prenuptial and divorce planning, estate and trust administration, and fiduciary litigation. Brian is a tax, business law, estate planning, accounting and finance adjunct professor for multiple undergraduate, graduate, law school and doctoral programs. He is licensed to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts, and Florida, and he is the process of waiving into the South Dakota bar.