Navigating the Portability Rules and How it Can Be a Game Changer for Your Clients

Overview

This course helps the practitioner understand not only how to make the portability election, but how it can provide overall tax benefits to surviving spouses and beneficiary of estates that fall below the federal estate exclusion amount.  We will look at who should and can make the election, how the election is made and how to opt out, the requirements for filing Form 706, along with comparing the benefits of electing portability to conventional credit shelter trust planning.

**Please Note:  If you need credit reported to the IRS for this IRS approved program, please download the IRS CE request form on the Course Materials Tab and submit to leighanne.conroy@acpen.com.

Prerequisites

Participants should have a basic understanding of estate taxes

Objectives

• To provide the practitioner with the knowledge to help their client decide whether to make the portability election and the mechanics and process of filing form 706 to elect or out-out of electing portability.

Highlights

• Defining portability, a.k.a. the deceased spousal unused exemption (DSUE) election
• How to calculate the DSUE amount
• Making the portability election
• Who can and cannot elect portability
• Review the requirements for completing form 706 when electing portability
• Making a late election and IRS Section 9100 relief
• How to opt-out of the election and hazards of not making the election for the client and practitioner
• Determining the “last deceased spouse” for making the election
• IRS examination issues when making the election
• Review benefits and drawbacks of the DSUE election vs. conventional credit shelter/asset protection planning - income taxes vs. estate taxes
• Use of  QTIPs and QDOTs
• A look at state death tax issues