The new tax package has something for everyone in it. For our estate planning clients, it doubles the estate tax exemption from $5,490,000 to over $11,000,000 after the adjustment for inflation. Many of our clients did not have a concern about estate taxes before. This change helps even more of our clients transition their wealth to children on their death without the worry about estate tax. This also helps us simplify planning for more of our clients who no longer need more complicated estate tax strategies to minimize or avoid the estate tax.

The tax package also has a positive impact on the taxation of income, both for individuals and businesses. Hopefully, we will better understand exactly what this tax package does for us after the IRS issues regulations in the next few months to implement the tax plan.

I want to again caution our clients and others that just because their estate may not be large enough to be subject to estate tax, it does not eliminate the need for good estate planning. Be proactive in planning well for your family and maintain that planning over the years so that it works when you need it to.