Nicole L. Sultani

For tax professionals, a new year means more than new resolutions. The 2023 updated estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) transfer tax exemptions represent new wealth and estate planning opportunities for clients. The federal estate, gift and GST exemption amounts have increased this year to $12,920,000 per person (an $860,000 increase from 2022). Particularly considering these amounts are scheduled to decrease by half in 2026, the time is ripe for many clients to consider how best to utilize their exemptions before they lose them.  

As our society becomes increasingly tied to digital technologies, the world of estate planning is faced with novel questions. Today, many people own substantial digital assets whether they realize it or not. Sentimental items such as electronically stored photos, videos, and social media accounts, as well as items of financial value such as domain names, blogs, bitcoin, and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) constitute digital assets that must be considered when preparing an estate plan.