Do you have a 2024 resolution? Have you thought through this year’s goals and priorities? The best place to start could be a place you hadn’t considered: estate planning. Time and time again, we speak with clients and prospective clients that put off estate planning for the “later” stages of their lives. Because their circumstances do not vary much from year to year, they say, there is no reason to spend the time and resources engaging in estate planning now when they could just start later.
We always dissuade our clients from thinking this way. To state the obvious, we never know what’s around the corner. With no way of predicting the future, the best tool we have to ensure that our wishes are respected in the long-term future is making a thorough estate plan as soon as possible. Below, we detail several reasons why now is the best time to start (or continue) your estate planning journey.
Tax Exemptions in 2026
The federal government is gearing up to significantly alter how it handles certain kinds of tax exemptions. For example, did you know that the gift and estate tax exemptions will all be cut in half in 2026? The lifetime gift tax exemption was $11.58 million in 2020, increased to $12.92 million in 2023, and is now scheduled to decrease to $6 million in 2026. As for the estate tax exemption, it currently sits at $12.92 million per person. In 2026, the exemption is scheduled to decrease to roughly $7 million.
These exemptions can have major implications for those trying to pass on assets to their heirs and loved ones. This means that if you want to do more in 2024 and 2025 to pass on gifts to loved ones, 2024 is the time to put plans into action. By waiting until the end of 2025, you risk missing out on a major tax benefit that will be substantially less beneficial within the next two years.