Estate Tax Planning Checklist

ESTATE AND TRANSFER-TAX PLANNING WORKPAPER

Important Use Gate

DO NOT FILE OR IMPLEMENT FROM THIS WORKPAPER. Transfer-tax amounts, forms,
elections, definitions, valuation rules, deadlines, and state overlays change.
A planning strategy can create gift, estate, GST, income, property, creditor,
benefit, governance, or control consequences that this packet does not decide.

Use current official federal and state sources for the exact planning and
transfer dates.

1. Client and Planning Control

Do not place full taxpayer identifiers in an ordinary planning copy.

2. Current-Law Register

Record the actual source and effective date. Do not copy a prior year's amount
or rely on a planning summary.

3. Family, Beneficiary, and Control Objectives

Control and access the client wishes to retain: [________________________________]

Control or access the client is willing to transfer: [________________________________]

Support, education, health, special-needs, creditor, divorce, governance, or
charitable objectives: [________________________________]

4. Asset and Ownership Inventory

Include real property, cash, investments, retirement benefits, insurance,
business and professional interests, trusts, powers, digital assets, claims,
notes, annuities, intellectual property, collectibles, and out-of-state or
foreign property.

5. Existing Document and Beneficiary Audit

6. Prior Transfer and Filing History

Review prior taxable and nontaxable gifts, split-gift elections, portability
filings, GST allocations or elections, trust contributions, policy transfers,
entity transactions, charitable transfers, loans, sales, valuation positions,
extensions, examinations, closing letters, and amended or supplemental filings.

7. Preliminary Exposure Model

This is an adviser workpaper, not a return calculation.

Model assumptions: [________________________________]

Sensitivity cases: [________________________________]

Second-person calculation review: [________________________________]

8. Strategy Evaluation Matrix

No strategy is selected merely because it appears below.

9. Valuation and Appraisal Plan

Do not assume a valuation adjustment is available or that an appraisal supports
adequate disclosure without current review.

10. Return, Election, and Deadline Calendar

Separately calendar federal and state estate, gift, GST, income, fiduciary,
information, appraisal, extension, portability, allocation, disclaimer,
beneficiary, plan, recorder, entity, and other deadlines.

11. State and Multi-Jurisdiction Review

Do not use a fixed list of “estate tax states.” Check domicile, residence,
property situs, entity law, trust situs and administration, beneficiary
location, and transfer date against current authority.

12. Implementation Plan

Implementation may require legal instruments, appraisals, tax returns,
elections, consents, entity approvals, deeds, assignments, policy or plan
forms, notices, funding, account changes, and proof of delivery.

13. Final Review

☐ Current federal and state law was verified for the planning date.

☐ No prior-year exclusion, rate, filing threshold, state list, or deadline was
carried forward without confirmation.

☐ Asset ownership, basis, value, debt, liquidity, beneficiary designations,
entities, trusts, insurance, and transfer restrictions are complete.

☐ Prior gifts, returns, elections, portability, GST allocations, and valuation
positions were reviewed.

☐ Exposure models state assumptions and received second-person review.

☐ Each strategy was tested for tax, income, control, access, creditor, divorce,
benefit, governance, administration, and state-law consequences.

☐ Appraisals, adequate-disclosure questions, forms, elections, and deadlines
were assigned.

☐ Qualified estate-planning counsel and tax professionals approved each
recommended action.

Estate-planning counsel: [________________________________]

Tax adviser / return preparer: [________________________________]

Valuation adviser: [________________________________]

Review date: [__/__/____]

End of planning workpaper. Do not file or implement from this packet.