Pre-Transaction Planning: Estate Freezes and Other Pre-Deal Strategies

A shareholder may transfer significant value to donees and reduce the size of his taxable estate when he implements various leveraged and freeze techniques in advance of the sale. Jessica Hardin presented strategies like grantor retained annuity trusts, family limited partnerships, sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts and private annuities. Her session also included a discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of each, the impact of interest rates on certain strategies and how to evaluate these tools to achieve the best outcome for a selling shareholder.

"The Right Way to Exit: Key Tax and Estate Planning Issues in Selling a Business" attendees earned 6 hours of CLE credit.