Grantor trusts are groovy. They have so many potential benefits that they are the cornerstone of many, maybe even most estate plans. Grantor trusts let you transaction business with your trust without ...

Kim Porter began her career as a writer and an editor focusing on personal finance in 2010. Since then, her work has been published everywhere from Forbes Advisor to U.S. News & World Report, Fortune, ...

Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Ebony Howard is a certified public accountant and a QuickBooks ProAdvisor tax expert. She ...

Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) ­represent an opportunity for a client to transfer appreciating assets to the next generation with little to no gift or estate tax consequences. Wealthy ...

June 21, 2023 - On March 30, 2023, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Ruling 2023-2, which directly impacts a wide range of irrevocable trusts, including grantor retained annuity trusts, ...

Estate tax planners have long employed intentionally defective grantor trusts to freeze the value of an asset for estate tax purposes while transferring assets out of the estate free of gift tax. An ...

Typically, a trust must file a separate income tax return for each calendar year. However, for most grantor trusts, filing a separate tax return is optional. The general rule and the alternative ...

Trusts can be useful in estate planning for passing on assets to your heirs. A grantor retained income trust (GRIT) is a specific type of trust that allows you to transfer assets while still ...

A recent Internal Revenue Service revenue ruling has finally settled the debate over whether the assets in an irrevocable grantor trust can get a step-up in basis at the grantor’s death. Revenue ...

Even the most sophisticated estate planners may be missing the point of grantor trusts. It's a risk-free, transfer-tax free, effortless wealth transfer tool that is much more powerful than most ...