The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ) has published a “Table of Experts” panel discussion about estate planning, featuring Hellmuth & Johnson partner Cole Hickman.
When asked who exactly needs to be concerned about estate taxes, Hickman shared, “Minnesota residents need to be concerned if they have an estate in excess of $3 million. Federally, that number is quite a bit higher, $11.7 million. If you’re married, federally, you have the concept of portability, which gets you to a combined cumulative exemption of $23.4 million. In Minnesota, there isn’t portability, so you have to have strategies in mind for Minnesota residents to use that exemption, before the first spouse passes away so that we can make sure that we get a cumulative exemption of $6 million.”
When asked what the most common estate planning trends and strategies that clients are implementing this year, Hickman responded, “Exemption use. The theory is to use your federal estate tax exemption now, this year, which is, as we all know, $11.7 million, out of fears that that may be reduced substantially at some point. While we are still waiting for more clarity, we have seen draft legislation that would reduce the exemption to the $3.5 million to $5.8 million range. There is a lot of thought surrounding using that exemption now before the end of the year.”