Marital Deduction Planning and Portability: Problem Areas for Spouses, Second Marriages, QTIP Trusts, and Elections
Key Issues, Drafting Considerations, Marital Deduction Formula Clauses, Fractional Shares, and Other Critical Items
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Estate Planning
- event Date
Thursday, May 29, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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This CLE/CPE webinar will provide trusts and estates counsel and tax advisers guidance on key considerations for marital deduction planning and the impact of portability. The panel will discuss strategies and current problem areas in estate planning for spouses, QTIP trusts and elections, types of marital deduction formula clauses, fractional shares, and the computation and reporting of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion change to the deceased spouse's unused exemption.
Mr. Capdevielle Capdevielle is a highly experienced probate, trust, and tax attorney with more than 30 years of success representing trustees, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, and high-net-worth individuals in complex tax, estate, and trust, matters. Licensed in Nevada, California, and Texas, Cliff brings a unique cross-jurisdictional perspective to high-stakes disputes and sensitive family matters involving wealth transfer, inheritance, and fiduciary obligations. Before joining Saltzman Mugan Dushoff LLP, he served as Managing Attorney at Moskowitz LLP, a nationally recognized tax law firm, where he oversaw high dollar tax controversy matters. Earlier in his career, Mr. Capdevielle worked in the Tax Department at Deloitte, gaining deep experience at the intersection of tax law, finance, and business planning—expertise that now powers his sophisticated approach to estate, trust, and tax matters.
Estate planning counsel and tax advisers have powerful tools to achieve significant estate and gift tax savings for clients. Marital deduction planning and portability provide counsel methods to protect increases in value between spouses' deaths and attain better income tax results.
Under current tax law, a person may leave property to their spouse, use the marital deduction, and elect to have the exclusion transfer to the surviving spouse. This results in the surviving spouse having more property in their estate, while also benefiting from their own exclusion and that of the predeceased spouse. Estate planners must carefully consider potential changed circumstances, second or third marriages, partners with children from current and previous relationships, and couples without children. All of which will determine which planning methods are appropriate for the client.
Under IRC Sec. 2056(a), to qualify for the marital deduction (1) the decedent must have been survived by a spouse, (2) the property interest must pass from the decedent to the spouse, (3) the property interest must be a deductible interest, and (4) the value of the property interest must be established.
The portability regulations require the executor of a decedent's estate to calculate the deceased spouse's unused exclusion and report the amount on the estate tax return to elect portability for the surviving spouse. Determining this amount involves a multi-step process for calculating the unused exemption amount under the regulations.
By walking you through real world examples utilizing the marital deduction and portability to maximize tax benefits for estate planning, our panel will examine the tax savings and other benefits of creating marital deduction and portability-based planning.
Listen as our panel discusses strategies and current problem areas in estate planning for spouses, types of marital deduction formula clauses, fractional shares, portability elections, and the computation and reporting of a deceased spouse's unused exclusion change to the deceased spouse's unused exemption.
- Gift and estate tax overview: electing portability
- Estate and gift tax savings
- Mechanics of election
- Marital deduction planning considerations
- Portability and second marriages
- Filing requirements and elections
- State tax considerations
The panel will discuss these and other key issues:
- Gift and estate tax overview: electing portability
- Estate and gift tax savings
- Mechanics of election
- Marital deduction planning and pitfalls to avoid
- Calculating and reporting on Form 706 and 709
- State tax considerations
