Gifts and Gift Agreements in Your Estate Plan

Want to simplify the administration of your estate? Give everything away! In this week’s podcast, we discuss gifts and gift agreements you might consider. Is it really a good idea to give everything away before you die? Probably not, for most people. But giving away some things might benefit the recipient and allow you to enjoy making the gift during your lifetime. Sometimes a gift isn’t really an outright gift — or it is intended to have some effect on the rest of your estate plan. You might want to consider a gift agreement as part of your comprehensive estate plan — setting out the expectations you and the recipient have about a gift. For example: is a loan you made to a child intended as a loan, an advance on their inheritance, or an outright gift? Did you expect to receive income during your life but forgive the remaining balance at your death? You need to spell out the details and expectations, rather than rely on hearsay and vague memories.