If you are a parent, you undoubtedly spent the majority of your life believing that absolutely nothing can provide you with more happiness and joy than being a parent – until you became a grandparent. Then you realize that you get to experience all the fun of being a parent without anywhere near the same level of responsibility! If you are now a grandparent, you may also want to include your grandkids in your estate plan. To help you make the most out of your gifts to the grand kids, the estate planning attorneys at German Law offer some tips for gifting to grandchildren.
- Don’t wait until after you are gone. If your long-term plan is to pass down a portion of your estate to your grandchildren, why not make some of those gifts while you are still alive? Not only will you gain a tax advantage from doing so, but you will also have the pleasure of being able to watch your grandchildren enjoy the gifts you give them.
- Avoid making promises to the grandkids. As a grandparent, you may get carried away and want to make promises for future gifts. For example, you might find yourself promising to cover college expenses, buy a first car, or pay for a wedding in the future. Because you can’t know what your own financial situation will be when your retirement years arrive, you could end up having to renege on the promise, so it is best to avoid making promises.
- Enjoy benefits from your gifts. Although making gifts is an altruistic endeavor, there is no reason why you shouldn’t also reap the tax benefits from the gift. Check with your estate planning attorney and tax advisor to see if you can combine your gifts to grandkids with any tax breaks or other estate planning incentives.
- Make use of the yearly exclusion early on and often. The yearly exclusion allows every taxpayer to make tax-free gifts valued at up to $16,000 to an unlimited number of beneficiaries. Gifts made using the yearly exclusion do not count toward the taxpayer’s lifetime limit for federal gift and estate tax purposes.
- Don’t get carried away with gifts. Grandparents frequently become so enamored with their grandchildren that they want to give them everything. Resist the temptation as you may need your assets to live comfortably during your retirement years.
- Gift your legacy as well as assets. By incorporating legacy planning tools and strategies in to your estate plan you can pass down more than just assets to your grandchildren. You can also continue to pass down your beliefs, ideals, faith, and philosophies that are an integral part of who you are and who you hope your grandchildren will one day become.
- Do not gift a large, lump sum to a young adult. A minor cannot inherit directly from your estate, meaning you will need to utilize a trust to protect the inheritance you leave your grandchildren if they have yet to reach adulthood. Once they become a legal adult, however, you may still wish to delay the inheritance to allow time for a beneficiary to grow and mature. Using that same trust, you can also stagger distributions of the inheritance instead of gifting a lump sum. For example, the trust terms could dictate a beneficiary receives a percentage or set amount at age 18 with increasingly larger distributions at ages 21, 25, 30, and 35. As the Testator (creator) of the trust, you create the terms.
- Avoid favoritism to avoid disputes. While you may never admit it out loud, you probably have a favorite grandchild. You may be tempted to gift more to that grandchild as a result. There is certainly no law that requires you to gift to all grandchildren equally; however, absent a good reason not to, you may wish to do so as a way to reduce the likelihood of probate disputes. Legally, the fact that you played favorites will not invalidate your Will, but it increases the chance that a beneficiary will try and find a way to have your Will declared invalid.
Contact Estate Planning Attorneys
Please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns about gifting to your grandchildren, contact the estate planning attorneys at German Law by calling 701-738-0060 to schedule an appointment.
Associate Attorney at German Law
John Oelke is an Associate Attorney and joined the firm in March 2022. He concentrates his practice on Estate Planning. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance specializing in Investments in December 2017. John earned his J.D. from the Creighton University School of Law in Omaha Nebraska in 2021. He is admitted to practice in both Minnesota and North Dakota.
John grew up on a small livestock farm in west central Minnesota. He now lives in Grand Forks with his wife Maggie and their two daughters. In his free time John enjoys reading, taking his family to North Dakota and Minnesota state parks and rooting for all UND and Minnesota professional sports.
John grew up on a small livestock farm in west central Minnesota. He now lives in Grand Forks with his wife Maggie and their two daughters. In his free time John enjoys reading, taking his family to North Dakota and Minnesota state parks and rooting for all UND and Minnesota professional sports.
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