Have you ever felt like...

"I've built a $10 million estate. My attorney charged me $8,000 to set up a trust three years ago. I haven't looked at it since. I have no idea if it's funded properly, if my beneficiaries are current, or what happens to my family if something happens tomorrow. The exemption just went up to $15 million, so I'm safe for now. But at the rate I'm building wealth, I'll blow past that in a few years. And then the IRS takes 40% of everything above it."

Hypothetical client, made-up facts.

40%

Estate tax on everything above the exemption

$15M

New 2026 exemption per person ($30M for a couple that uses both)

$500+

Attorney fee for every revision to your trust

We hear you. The higher exemption is great news. But it's also a window you should use now.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act raised the estate tax exemption to $15 million per person, indexed from 2027; a couple can shelter $30 million with planning or a portability election. That's a huge win. But here's what most people miss: if your net worth is growing at the rate you've been building, you'll exceed $15 million in years, not decades. And the 40% tax on everything above that hits hard. The smart move is to use the higher exemption NOW to transfer wealth tax-free (when IRS requirements are met) while you're under the line. Gift it, trust it, insure it. Every dollar you move out of your taxable estate today keeps growing outside your estate, free of estate tax; income tax still applies to what it earns. Most people set up a trust once and forget it. The families who keep their wealth treat estate planning as a living system, not a document in a filing cabinet.

How It Works: Use the $15M Window to Transfer Wealth Tax-Free

Digital eState Plan

A digital estate plan keeps the trust online, with 24/7 access and a portal for the trustee. Changes to a trust are legal changes, so talk with an estate-planning attorney first.

Life Insurance Trust

An ILIT that owns the policy from the start keeps the death benefit out of your taxable estate. A policy you move in counts again if you die within 3 years.

Strategic Gifting

$38,000 a year per couple to each person in 2026 ($19,000 each). Over 20 years to 4 people, that's about $3 million out of your estate with no gift tax and none of your $15 million used.

Dynasty Trust

A dynasty trust is designed to last for multiple generations. Your children don't just inherit once. The trust keeps growing and protecting wealth for their children, and their children's children, and, with your GST exemption allocated, it can skip estate tax at each generation. The trust's income is still taxed each year.

Most estate plans are documents that sit in a cabinet. A digital estate plan is built to change when your life does.

Now Look at What Your Family Keeps

Without Planning (Single Person, Estate Grows to $20M)

Your Estate at Death$20,000,000

Exemption ($15M per person)$15,000,000

Taxable Amount$5,000,000

Estate Tax at 40%$2,000,000

Probate Costs$50K-$150K

Attorney Fees for Settlement$25K-$75K

What Your Family Receives~$17,775,000

With a Funded Trust, ILIT and Gifting (Single Person)

Your Estate at Death$20,000,000

ILIT Death Benefit (outside estate)+$5,000,000

Gifted Out Over 20 Years-$1,520,000 ($19,000 a year to each of 4 people, tax-free within IRS limits)

Taxable Estate After Gifting$18,480,000

Estate Tax (ILIT + gifting reduces exposure)$1,392,000 for a single person; $0 for a married couple using both exclusions

Probate$0 (funded trust avoids it)

What Your Family Receives$22,088,000 (this page's method: gifts already made aren't counted; before the cost of the policy premiums)

Additional Wealth Your Family Keeps

$4.3M

compared to doing nothing, single person, before the cost of the policy premiums (the $1,520,000 already given to family is on top)

Assumes estate grows to $20M, $15M exemption per person (One Big Beautiful Bill Act, 2026, indexed to inflation). ILIT with $5M death benefit funded via Lever 3. Annual gifting of $19K/year (one person's 2026 annual exclusion) to 4 people for 20 years; a married couple can give $38K/year by splitting gifts. Dynasty trust for multi-generational transfer. Married couple using both exemptions ($30M combined) would eliminate estate tax entirely at this level. Probate avoided for the assets actually titled in the trust.

Why Planning Still Matters at $15M+ Exemption

New 2026 exemption (per person)$15,000,000

Married couple using both exclusions or portability$30,000,000

Indexed to inflation going forwardYes (permanent)

If your estate exceeds the exemption40% on every dollar above

At $2M/year income, how fast you growPast $15M in 3-5 years

The window is open. Use it before you outgrow it.

The Law, Cited

Every move in your plan names the section of the Internal Revenue Code behind it and the form it lands on. Your CPA can file it, and you can check it.

The system behind every plan: seven areas of the tax code, checked against your facts, in the same order, every time.

"Tax-free" refers to qualified Roth distributions and properly structured strategies, which carry IRS requirements (for Roth: the 5-year rule and age 59½, with limited exceptions). Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier. Educational information only, not tax, legal, or investment advice.

Plan Your Estate