Estate and gift taxes are predominantly federal, meaning Washington, Congress, and the IRS.  Currently, Texas has no state inheritance tax.
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At Jordan ESQ., we specialize in working with clients who have taxable estates.  We work with you to create a sound foundation for minimizing estate taxes first with your custom-tailored estate planning and then employ creative solutions to further minimize your federal estate taxes as well as your federal gift taxes and generation-skipping transfer taxes.

These solutions run from implementing lifetime planning programs to maximize your annual gift tax exclusions to sophisticated trust planning techniques in which you utilize your federal estate tax exemption by making gifts to irrevocable trusts such as spousal lifetime access trusts or lifetime irrevocable gift trusts for your children and descendants.  We also utilize Section 678 trusts to transfer highly appreciable assets out of your taxable estate.  We are constantly analyzing these techniques since the tax laws are always changing.

Ultimately, charitable planning must be utilized to minimize potential estate tax liability through the Charitable Deduction after the above-planning techniques have been exhausted.  Charitable planning techniques include crafting lifetime and/or testamentary charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts, and forming private foundations to serve as the charitable beneficiary of your estate.

These solutions and techniques are combined to minimize your federal estate taxes and prevent your estate from being retaxed in the next generation to the greatest extent possible.

·   Maximizing annual gift tax exclusions
·   Maximizing medical and educational exclusions
·   Transferring assets to irrevocable trusts
·   BDITs or 678 Trusts
·   ILITs
·   QPRTs
·   Making gifts to Section 529 educational plans
·   Forming, funding, and making gifts utilizing family limited partnerships
·   Creating charitable trusts and foundation
·   Transferring assets to irrevocable trusts such as IDGTs and SLATs

Although there is no estate tax in Texas, federal estate tax exemptions are constantly changing. Therefore, frequently reviewing your estate plan with an estate planning attorney ensures that your plan reflects changes in the federal estate tax laws.