Eric Has $5 Million of Property That He Wants to Leave

question 118

Essay

Eric has $5 million of property that he wants to leave to his four children. He is considering making a current gift of the property (rather than leaving the property to pass through his will). Eric has made many prior taxable gifts and additional taxable transfers will be subject to the highest transfer tax rate. Determine how much estate tax Eric will save if he gifts the property now and survives at least three years, during which time the property appreciates to $5.5 million? Ignore the time value of money in your calculation.