In estate planning what is the best option to take in order to one minimise income tax and estate duties?
In the event that an individual has a family trust, a spouse and a child as possible beneficiaries, income tax and estate duties are minimised as follows:
The first and easiest answer is to make the wife beneficiary as bequests to the wife are exempt. It is however important to consider the entire picture to in order to utilise the R3.5 million exemption from estate duty. So in principal R3,5 million should move to the trust or children as that portion utilises the general estate duty rebate. Thereafter the wife can be utilised.
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