What the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and Portability Mean to Utah Estate Planners

Utah Bar Journal 27.1 (2014): 20-22

3 Pages Posted: 3 Oct 2015

See all articles by John Treu

John Treu

West Virginia University - College of Business & Economics

Date Written: January 1, 2014

Abstract

Congress avoided the so-called fiscal cliff with the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and, in so doing, implemented a number of important tax provisions that affect estate planners for estates of all sizes. The act made several key estate tax provisions permanent including fixing the exclusion amount and tax rates and, most importantly, it made the concept of portability permanent. Portability enables surviving spouse’s to utilize the unused unified credit of their decedent spouse, a strategy that historically required the use of a credit shelter trust. This article also discusses additional ways that portability affects estates large and small and how estate planners may use credit shelter trusts under the current estate tax regime with portability.

Keywords: American Taxpayer Relief Act, Estate Planner, gift tax, estate tax, credit shelter trust

JEL Classification: K34

Suggested Citation

Treu, John, What the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and Portability Mean to Utah Estate Planners (January 1, 2014). Utah Bar Journal 27.1 (2014): 20-22, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2662968

John Treu (Contact Author)

West Virginia University - College of Business & Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 6025
Morgantown, WV 26506
United States

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