Estate of Black: Another notch in taxpayers’ FLP belts

Description

Abstract: Family limited partnerships (FLPs) are proven estate planning tools. But the IRS sometimes attacks a partnership’s discounts or business purpose under Internal Revenue Code Section 2036, “Transfers with retained life estate.” This article notes the importance of proper FLP structure, explaining that when the IRS succeeds in proving that the donor or decedent retains ongoing economic benefit — either express or implied — it assesses gift and estate taxes for the full value of the partnership’s underlying assets without allowing discounts for lack of control and marketability.