Estate Tax Portability Planning

A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the May 2024 webcast, Estate Tax Portability Planning.

Estate tax portability was a game-changer for attorneys advising clients with estates of all sizes, and the ever-increasing estate tax exclusion amount has obviated the need to make the portability election in many cases. With the pending sunset of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) on December 31, 2025, the estate tax exclusion amount will be halved, subjecting a larger pool of our clients to the imposition of the estate tax. To prepare for the sunset, it is critical to refresh our understanding of the estate tax portability rules and how to effectively use them in the planning and post-mortem administration of our clients’ estates.

• Understand the portability filing requirements, how to file the portability election, and how to compute the deceased spouse unused exclusion amount
• Learn the special marital and charitable reporting exceptions
• Explore the “last deceased spouse” rule and subsequent marriage considerations
• Determine portability’s effect on trust-based estate planning and funding formulas
• Discover the new anti-clawback rules for calculating the taxable estate of a decedent who dies after having used the increased TCJA estate tax exclusion amount

Nathan R. Olansen, Midgett Preti Olansen PC / Virginia Beach

Nate Olansen is the Managing Shareholder at the law firm of Midgett Preti Olansen, with a practice focused on estate planning, probate and trust administration, IRS and state and local tax audit and tax collection cases, as well as individual and entity tax planning, asset protection, and a variety of related transactional matters such as business succession planning and business entity start-ups.

Mr. Olansen has extensive experience in drafting and implementing all types of basic and complex estate planning documents such as revocable trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILIT), grantor retained annuity trusts (GRAT), charitable remainder trusts (CRT), asset protection trusts, and generation-skipping transfer tax trusts. He regularly assists clients with the administration of trusts and estates, whether through the probate process or in private trusts, and serves as the executor and/or trustee for clients seeking long-term, professional trust management. He also has extensive experience in individual, gift, estate and trust income tax compliance and preparation (Form 1040, 1041, 706 and 709), and trust and estate fiduciary accounting preparation and forensic examination.

A significant part of Mr. Olansen’s tax practice is dedicated to representing individuals and businesses before the IRS, state, and local taxing authorities in tax disputes, audits, appeals, and collection actions. The scope of his audit and examination defense practice covers the entire process, from the initial Information Document Request through audit, administrative hearings, appeals, and litigation if necessary. He helps clients by removing levies, garnishments and liens, amending and correcting previous tax returns, filing delinquent tax returns, negotiating with the IRS and state governments to establish payment plans, conducting Collection Due Process Hearings (CDP), and submitting Offers in Compromise (OIC) to settle taxpayer debts that cannot be repaid.

Mr. Olansen is also a certified public accountant and former U.S. Marine. He is listed in Best Lawyers in America^® in three categories: Trusts & Estates, Tax, and Litigation—Trusts & Estates.