Estate planning remains important, even if the estate tax goes away.
The elimination of the estate tax is included in the Trump administration’s tax plan proposal. However, the path forward is not simple, according to Financial Advisor in “Estate Planning: It’s Not Over.”
Even though a big part of modern estate planning is planning around the estate tax, there is still a demand for complex estate planning.
It still is not clear when, if and how the estate tax might be repealed.
Congress could choose to phase it out over a few years or scrap the idea entirely, if they cannot agree on offsetting spending cuts or where to raise revenues from elsewhere. Senate Democrats could also mount a filibuster over any tax plan that Republicans propose, which they are expected to do.
No elimination of the estate tax is permanent, of course. Even if it passed now, it could always be reinstated when Democrats control government again.
Reference: Financial Advisor (April 3, 2017) “Estate Planning: It’s Not Over.”
