Reports of the death of the federal estate tax are premature.

Significantly, the TCJA retains the federal estate- and gift-tax systems but doubles the federal estate tax exemption to $11.2 million for 2018. (The $5 million exemption was scheduled to be indexed to $5.6 million in 2018.) This increase will vanish after 2025.

As a result, estate tax planning remains a top priority for wealthy individuals—with additional complexity.  Please contact the JMF Estate department with any questions.