Dear President Trump and the Esteemed Members of the Administration,
I hope this open letter finds you well, possibly enjoying the March Madness Basketball Tournament, the start of the Major League Baseball season, or finishing up your plans to purchase Greenland, but you are hopefully also pondering the future of tax policy and the economic stability of this great nation. I certainly understand you have a lot going on and the holiday season at year’s end may still seem like a long way away, but for estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, CPAs, and business appraisers—also affectionately known as the “private wealth planning community”—the end of 2025 has been on our minds a lot. Now that we are into the second quarter of the year with only 9 months to go (or approximately 275 days to go, but who is counting), let’s just say I know what would really make the year-end holidays brighter for the private wealth planning community: a little certainty. More specifically, a clear, firm decision on the estate tax exemption amounts before the calendar flips to 2026.
As you may be aware, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the gift that kept on giving to certain individuals and families across the country. The doubled estate tax exemption amount was a Christmas miracle for many, providing a financial cushion that allowed for better planning, more certainty, and—dare I say it—peaceful holiday seasons for estate planning professionals everywhere. But with that gift set to sunset at the end of 2025, it’s causing a little bit of panic in our corner of the world. Simply put, the private wealth planning community is losing sleep, not over visions of sugarplums in the winter holiday season, but over how to handle the uncertainty of a drastically lower exemption amount that may kick in as of January 2026.
And so, I write to you, hoping you will address this with the urgency it so deserves. Our clients need clarity. You see, we, as trusted advisors, are tasked with helping individuals and families plan for their future, making important tax planning and financial decisions on estate planning strategies, business succession, charitable contributions, etc. But how are we to do so with the looming specter of the estate tax exemption—currently at $13.99M for estate tax, gift tax, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions in 2025—potentially shrinking back to its pre-TCJA levels? It’s like trying to bake a holiday cake without knowing if the recipe calls for two eggs or one—and just to make it interesting, you’re also uncertain about whether the oven will stay at 350°F or drop to 175°F at the last minute.
Now, don’t get me wrong. The private wealth planning community is resilient, and we’ve always risen to the occasion when tax policy changes have thrown us curveballs. (Like in 2008… 2010, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2022, etc.) But my dear friends, even the most seasoned planners will admit this year-end uncertainty might be as difficult on estate planning attorneys, financial advisors, CPAs, and business appraisers as the top of the fifth inning was on the New York Yankees in the most recent World Series. The level of uncertainty this uncertainty creates is mind-boggling, and it’s trickling down to our clients as well. They’re asking us what to do, how to plan, and whether it’s wise to make large gifts before the end of 2025. Some are even considering locking up their assets in various types of irrevocable trusts in advanced estate planning transactions without knowing what their exemption amount will be, which candidly is the current wise advice amongst the private wealth planning community.
In the interest of a more peaceful end-of-year season (and quite frankly, the sanity of all advisors involved), we kindly request that the Trump administration provide us with the clarity and reassurance we need by locking in the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption amounts. If you can give us a solid indication of whether or not the exemption will remain at its current level or return to its previous amount, we could go about our business with far more ease—and perhaps even take a well-deserved break to actually enjoy the winter holidays with our own families and not our co-workers.
To put it simply, in the world of tax planning, certainty is the gift to clients that keeps on giving. It allows us to make the best decisions for our clients, avoid the mad scramble that comes with year-end uncertainty, and most importantly, it makes for a much more peaceful December for all of us. Just imagine: estate planners breathing easy, CPAs not chained to their desks for 80 hours a week, and appraisers not calculating business valuations in their sleep.
You don’t want to be the Grinch who steals that joy, do you? Of course not! So, with all due respect and a hearty sense of humor, we ask that you speed up the process of passing legislation confirming the estate tax exemption amounts, so we can all get back to doing what we do best: helping individuals, families, and businesses succeed in a way that also allows us to catch a breather between tax season and the year-end holiday festivities.
Wishing you all a wonderful, stress-free end to the year (for all of us), and we look forward to hearing good news soon!
Warmest Regards,
Darren T. Case, Forbes Contributor
Read the full article here