The Section 2519 Portability SolutionThe Section 2519 Portability Solution

The new portability provisions,¹ which permit a surviving spouse to inherit the unused estate tax exemption of his deceased spouse, were supposed to make estate planning easier. Instead, they’ve only made it more difficult. Many couples are better off having the first spouse to die create a traditional credit shelter trust that uses up his estate tax exemption. Other couples should rely on portability. The facts that ultimately determine which plan will perform best may not be known until well after the first spouse’s death. Portability, it seems, forces married couples to make critical planning decisions in the dark.

We would like to introduce a strategy that combines the best features of both portability and the traditional credit shel...