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Posted by Stuart Bronstein on April 30, 2008, 2:03 pm
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Drew.Blaha@itg-global.com wrote:
> A quick question. I would assume that an estate is not allowed to
> make gifts, but I haven't found that confirmed anywhere in the
> little bit of research that I've done. So I thought I would
> confirm with this group.
Generally that's true. What does the will or trust say?
> What taxable entities are allowed to make gifts? Mother past away
> in 2007, we are now working through her estate. Is the estate
> allowed to gift 12K to multiple individuals in 2007; 2008? Or is
> that a priveledge only extended to individuals?
Is this a probate estate or a trust?
The reason individuals make these gifts is that it reduces their
taxable estate while not incurring any gift tax. There is no reason
for an estate to make such gifts, since there is no tax advantage at
all to doing so.
That said, it may be possible for an estate or a trust to make
distributions (not gifts, because the gift was made on the date of
death) to heirs or beneficiaries. If it's in probate, the court may
need to approve this. If in trust, it depends on what the trust
document says and what the trustee thinks is best.
Stu
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