Gifting

A major reason people establish estate plans is to maintain control over their assets. What better way to reduce the size of your estate's exposure and save potential estate taxes than to gift your assets.

A gifting program can consist of any type of assets, such as stocks, bonds, real estate, business interests and of course, cash. You begin gifting assets to any individual or organization that you may have plans for in your Will or Trust. The gifting program can be a plan for tax free gifts over a number of years.

Currently an individual can make tax free gifts of $12,000 per year. A married couple can gift twice the amount or $24,000 per year per recipient. If a married couple wanted to transfer a business worth $96,000 to their child tax free they can establish a gifting program over four years. Each year a $24,000 interest would be transferred to their child.

Provided the gifts are at or below the tax free threshold, there is no reporting requirement to the IRS. However, depending on the asset being transferred as in the business above, it is a good idea to have an appraisal done to avoid later IRS challenges.

Some gifts can even reduce current income tax liabilities. If you have charitable inclinations you may want to begin a gifting program to the charitable organization you want to support. A lifetime gifting program allows you to see the benefits of your gift.