On February 13, 2025, Representative Randy Feenstra introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act. More than 170 representatives have reportedly agreed to support the bill, Speaker Johnson is on record as supporting it and in the Senate, Speaker Thune had 41 co-sponsors of the bill.
Of course, it is way too early to speculate about whether the bill will pass and in what form, but the bill raises a number of issues if it passes. If so, clients may want to consider one or more of the following:
Revising estate plans to change provisions that clients only made on the basis of estate tax avoidance, that they wouldn’t have made otherwise.
Exploring strategies with irrevocable trusts previously designed with estate tax avoidance in mind, such as irrevocable life insurance trusts, which clients may no longer see as beneficial.
As estate planners, passage of the bill would likely allow us to better serve our clients, since relief from the estate tax would allow clients to focus their future planning on what is really best for their families, and as opposed to how to minimize estate tax exposure. If the bill passes, clients may want to revisit their plans to how they can be revised without estate tax avoidance driving the bus.
We are keeping an eye on this legislation, and if it passes, you can expect to hear more from us on this once we have time to digest the terms of the final bill and its planning implications.