In This Issue:

- Exemption portability: Should you rely on it?

- Decant a trust to add trustee flexibility

- Using the GST tax exemption to build a dynasty

- Estate Planning Red Flag: Your plan includes a charitable lead trust

- Excerpt from Exemption portability:

One of the significant changes under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), signed into law back in January, was to make estate tax exemption “portability” permanent. When one spouse dies, portability allows the surviving spouse to use the deceased spouse’s unused exemption amount. This means that married couples can now maximize the benefits of their combined exemptions without the need for sophisticated estate planning involving multiple trusts.

Portability simplifies estate planning, but should you rely on it? Doing so may be appropriate under certain circumstances. But for many people, particularly the affluent, more-sophisticated strategies continue to offer significant benefits.