Using an LLC for Estate Planning
Using an LLC for Estate Planning
By Michelle Ullman Updated November 14, 2021
Reviewed By Anthony Battle Fact Checked By Amanda Jackson
It can help you pass assets down to your heirs while avoiding taxes
Somewhere between a corporation and a partnership lies the limited liability company (LLC). This hybrid legal entity is beneficial for small-business owners and is also a powerful tool for estate planning.
If you want to transfer assets to your children, grandchildren, or other family members—but you are concerned about gift taxes or the burden of estate taxes your beneficiaries will owe upon your passing—an LLC can help you control and protect assets during your lifetime, keep assets in the family, and reduce taxes owed by you or your family members.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A limited liability company (LLC) can be a useful legal structure through which to pass assets down to your loved ones while avoiding or minimizing estate and gift taxes.
A family LLC allows your heirs to become shareholders who can then benefit from the assets held by the LLC, while you retain management control.
The tax benefit of the LLC lies in the fact that the value of the shares transferred to heirs can be discounted quite steeply, often up to 40% of their market value.
Just about any asset can be put into an LLC.
What Is an LLC?
An LLC is a legal entity recognized in all 50 states, although each state has its own regulations governing the formation, running, and taxation of these companies. Like a corporation, LLC owners (called members) are protected from personal liability in case of debt, lawsuit, or other claims, thus protecting personal property such as a home, automobile, personal bank account, or investment.
Unlike a corporation, LLC members can manage the LLC in whatever fashion they like and are subject to fewer state regulations and formalities than a corporation. As a partnership, members of an LLC report the business's profits and losses on their personal tax returns, instead of the LLC itself being taxed as a business entity.1
Benefits of Using an LLC for Estate Planning
You’ve worked hard to earn and grow your wealth, and you probably want as much of it as possible to stay in your family once you’re gone. Establishing a family LLC with your children allows you to:
Effectively reduce the estate taxes your children would be required to pay on their inheritance
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