The One Big Beautiful Bill Act: A New Horizon for Estate Planning with a $15M Exemption

The estate planning landscape has taken a great leap forward with the passage of The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025. This legislation introduces a series of favorable changes, but one of the most transformative for affluent families, business owners, and entrepreneurs is the permanent increase in the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. This has created a new horizon for estate planning.

Effective immediately, the lifetime exemption is raised to $15 million per individual - or $30 million for a married couple. And unlike past legislation, this act includes no sunset provision and no changes to tax rates, bringing much-needed clarity and long-term stability to estate planning.

What Does This Mean for You?

1) Enhanced Wealth Transfer

This increased exemption allows individuals and families to transfer significantly more wealth free of federal gift and estate taxes, enabling the preservation of family assets and the creation of a new horizon for estate planning.

2) Leverage Gifts to Acquire Life Insurance Outside of the Estate

One of the most strategic ways to take advantage of the increased exemption is by gifting assets to an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) to purchase life insurance outside of the taxable estate. This approach accomplishes two goals:

• It removes the death benefit from your taxable estate, preserving the full value of the policy for your heirs, and
  

• It creates immediate and future liquidity, when it’s needed most, providing your family, trust, or business with tax-free capital to pay estate taxes, equalize inheritances, fund buy-sell agreements, or continue a family enterprise.

TRC Financial specializes in structuring life insurance strategies that align with your estate and legacy planning goals - turning today's gift into tomorrow’s certainty.

3) Elimination of Estate Tax Exposure for Many

With a higher threshold, many families will now find themselves fully insulated from federal estate tax liability, simplifying planning and reducing the need for aggressive tax-minimization strategies. This frees up planning to evaluate other strategies like funding for your potential long-term care liability.

4) Predictable, Long-Term Planning

The absence of a sunset provision means greater confidence in long-term strategies such as generation-skipping planning, multi-generational trusts, and PPLI (Private Placement Life Insurance) structures.

5) Shift to Purposeful Planning

This legislative clarity enables a meaningful shift: from focusing solely on tax minimization to creating a lasting impact. Families can now dedicate planning efforts to philanthropic goals, succession strategies, and values-based legacy building.

Why It Matters Now: A New Horizon for Estate Planning

In addition to the increased exemption, The One Big Beautiful Bill Act preserves critical planning tools such as:

• No new taxes on life insurance

• The permanent Qualified Business Income (199A) deduction

• Continued access to Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI) and advanced trust strategies

These provisions, combined with the enhanced exemption, create an optimal window for reviewing and restructuring your estate plan.

What’s Next?

This is an opportunity to take proactive steps while the environment is favorable. Whether you’re considering gifting strategies, trust planning, or acquiring life insurance outside of your estate, now is the time to act.

At TRC Financial, we work closely with families, business owners, entrepreneurs, and their advisors to design strategies that create liquidity, protect legacies, and reduce tax exposure. Contact us today to discuss how to take advantage of this historic change and secure your family’s financial future.

This material and the opinions voiced are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual or entity. The tax and legal references attached herein are designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered and are provided with the understanding that neither TRC Financial, nor M Financial are engaged in rendering tax, legal, or actuarial services. If tax, legal, or actuarial advice is required, you should consult your accountant, attorney, or actuary. Neither TRC Financial, nor M Financial should replace those advisors.