Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
December 2012
Disciplines
Estates and Trusts | Law
Abstract
In a “grantor trust,” the grantor is treated as the owner for income tax purposes. All income generated by the trust assets of a grantor trust is taxed to the grantor. Essentially, the trust is ignored for income tax purposes. When an individual creates a revocable living trust and funds it with his or her own assets, for example, the trust is a grantor trust for federal income tax purposes until the grantor’s death. These written materials summarize the history of the grantor trust rules, discuss the rules in context, and illustrate the rules in operation with an outline of the reverse grantor trust concept. These materials conclude with a discussion of attorney ethics in trustee representation matters.
Publication Title
Tax Update XXXIV, South Dakota Bar Association
Recommended Citation
Thomas E. Simmons, Grantor Trusts: The Who, the What, the Where, the Wherefore, and the Wherewithal, Presentation at the South Dakota Bar Association's Tax Update XXXIV, Sioux Falls, SD (Dec. 14, 2012)