When looking to minimize or eliminate estate taxes, we must differentiate between the federal estate tax and the state estate tax. In 2020, the federal estate and gift tax exemption is $11.58 million dollars and the NYS estate tax exemption is $5.85 million. The federal exemption combines gifts made during your lifetime and assets distributed at death. This means that if you live in NYS, ideally you should not have more than $5.85 million at the time of your death – unless you are married. If married, you can double your exemption amount by capturing both spouse’s exemption with a portability election and credit shelter trust. The only way to avoid or minimize estate tax is move assets out of your name. Aside from spending your assets, an easy method is to simply gift the allowable amount ($15,000 in 2020) each year to as many people as you want, without affecting your estate and gift tax exemption. Gifts for medical or educational purposes also do not count against your lifetime exemption. This lowers the amount you have at death and does not cut into your exemption. If you have charitable inclinations, a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) or Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) qualifies for an estate tax deduction equal to the value of the behest and allows up to a twenty-year income stream to designated beneficiaries. If you are under the federal amount, but over the NYS exemption, your estate plan will concentrate on gifting during your lifetime up to the allowable $11.58 million. Instead of straight gifting, you can choose to create irrevocable trusts, including: Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT), Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGIT), Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT), Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT), Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT), and LLC or FLLC (Family Limited Liability Company) entities. Usually, clients use a variety of techniques.   When gifting outright or into an irrevocable trust, it is important to consider the type of asset being given away, including its potential for growth and capital gains.  As you can see, more sophisticated estate planning tools that can minimize estate tax require the help of an experienced estate planning attorney.