The Estate Tax Loopholes Hiding in Family Businesses

Estate taxes hit a fraction of American families, but the wealthiest use valuation discounts, GRATs, and family limited partnerships to shrink their taxable estates by hundreds of millions. In this episode, Lucas and Luna unpack how the IRS defines 'fair market value' and why a dollar of business interest is suddenly worth fifty cents when it changes hands. They walk through the classic Christensen case, where a family moved $100 million in timberland out of the estate for pennies on the dollar, and explain the 2016 regulation that was supposed to close the door—but didn't. They also cover the current state of play in 2026, with the federal exemption at $13.61 million per person, and why the sunset at the end of 2026 is pushing wealthy families to act now. If you've ever wondered how the rich pay less than the statutory rate, this episode shows the mechanisms—and the line between planning and abuse. #EstateTax #FamilyLimitedPartnership #GRATs #ValuationDiscounts #WealthTransfer #TaxPlanning #IRS #ChristensenCase #FairMarketValue #InheritanceTax #TaxLoopholes #WealthyFamilies #EstatePlanning #TaxPolicy #Economics #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #FexingoTax Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo