GRAT Hand Off

For closely held family business owners who want their businesses to pass to the next generation, there are various estate-planning techniques that should help them avoid significant transfer tax costs. These range from simple gifts of family business interests that are sheltered by the gift tax annual exclusion or the applicable exclusion amount, to more complex installment sales to defective grantor trusts and grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs). The best choice for pass-through