Use Your Exemption
Advanced Estate Planning: Use Your Exemption
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (or SLATs) are trusts that allow you to use your historically high federal estate tax exemption (currently $11.58M). The SLAT planning structure works as follows:
You transfer assets to a SLAT you set up, which uses up a portion of your federal estate tax exemption.
Your spouse is the beneficiary of the SLAT and has access to the assets for his/her lifetime.
Upon your spouse’s death the remaining assets pass to trusts for your children.
The SLAT assets, and whatever they appreciate to during your lifetime, are not subject to estate tax.
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