Assignment: Tax-Planning Client Letter on Irrevocable Trusts, Gift Tax, and Estate Tax
Suppose you are a CPA, and your client has requested advice regarding establishing an irrevocable trust for his two (2) grandchildren. He wants the income from the trust paid to the children for 20 years and the principal distributed to the children at the end of 20 years.
Use the Internet and Strayer databases to research the rules regarding irrevocable trusts, gift tax, and estate tax. Be sure to use the six (6) step tax research process in Chapter 1 and demonstrated in Appendix A of your textbook as a guide for your written response.
Write a one to two (2-3) page letter in which you:
Analyze the effect of an irrevocable trust on the gift tax and future estate taxes.
Suggest other significant alternatives that the client could use both to reduce estate tax and to maximize potential advantages of the payment of gift taxes on transfers of property.
Use the six (6) step tax research process, located in Chapter 1 and demonstrated in Appendix A of the textbook, to record your research for communications to the client.