Estate tax planning attorneys in Las Vegas help you reduce potential tax liabilities, protect your assets, and ensure your estate can transfer your wealth efficiently and according to your wishes.
At Mills & Anderson, we bring over 60 years of combined experience to every estate planning and tax matter we handle. Our team is straightforward, client-focused, and we manage every case personally. With deep roots in the Las Vegas area, we are committed to helping Nevada families protect what matters most.
What Is the Estate Tax?
The federal estate tax is imposed on the transfer of a person’s property after they die. It only applies to taxable estates that exceed a value threshold—the federal estate tax exemption. Estate tax rates reach up to 40% on the estate’s value above that exemption amount.
Fully understanding the estate tax also requires understanding the gift tax. Both involve transfers where the recipient does not provide fair market value for the property received, and the taxes combine to form one lifetime estate and gift tax exemption.
The Taxable Estate
The value of an estate includes nearly all assets a person owns at the time of death, for example:
- Real estate, including primary residences, vacation homes, and rental properties;
- Financial accounts, such as checking, savings, retirement accounts, and investment portfolios; and
- Business interests and intellectual property; and
- Personal property of value, such as vehicles, artwork, and collectibles.
Life insurance proceeds are typically part of the estate if the deceased person owned or controlled the policy.
You may reduce the taxable estate through liabilities like debts and funeral expenses. Estate planning strategies can help you further reduce the estate subject to taxation.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed in 2017, temporarily changed the federal estate tax landscape. Before the TCJA, the exemption was roughly $5.49 million per person. The TCJA nearly doubled this amount and indexed it for inflation. In 2025, the exemption is $13.99 million per person. Unless Congress extends the TCJA, the increased exemption will revert to pre-2018 levels in 2026, estimated at around $7 million per person.
The Combined Estate and Gift Tax
Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets an annual gift exclusion amount per recipient. In 2025, the amount is $19,000. Any year the taxpayer gifts more than the annual exclusion amount, the excess is added to their lifetime exemption.
For example, assume you gave someone $100,000 in 2024. You can only exclude the first $18,000 from taxation (that year’s annual exclusion) while the remaining $82,000 reduces your lifetime exemption.
If you die in 2025 with an estate valued at $13.95 million, you add the $82,000 to calculate your estate’s value for lifetime exemption purposes. The result is approximately $14.3 million, higher than the lifetime exemption for 2025. Your estate would owe taxes on the difference between the $13.99 million exemption and the $14.3 million value of your estate, approximately $42,000.
Options for Married Couples
Estate tax planning for married couples offers significant benefits, including:
- Marital deduction—allows unlimited tax-free transfers between spouses;
- Portability election—enables a surviving spouse to use any portion of the deceased spouse’s unused estate tax exemption; and
- Combined lifetime exemptions—up to $27.98 million in 2025.
With thoughtful planning, many couples can eliminate or significantly reduce their exposure to the federal estate tax.
Common Estate Tax Planning Strategies
A well-rounded estate tax plan combines legal tools and financial strategies to reduce the taxable estate. The right tools depend on the person wielding them. The Mills & Anderson estate tax planning attorneys in Las Vegas can help you identify the most effective strategies and guide you through their implementation.
Lifetime Gifting
Gifts can reduce your estate’s value and benefit your loved ones now. Common gifting techniques include:
- Annual exclusion gifts—transfer up to the annual exclusion amount per recipient, per year, without reducing your lifetime exemption;
- Lifetime exemption gifts—give additional amounts above the annual exclusion to use part of your lifetime exemption now; and
- Educational and medical expense payments—pay tax-excluded tuition or medical expenses directly to the provider.
The 2026 reversion of the TCJA offers an opportunity for strategic gifting. Gifts made under the higher exemption will still use the higher lifetime number applicable when the taxpayer made the gift. So if you gift an excess of $3 million in 2025, that amount counts against the $13.99 million 2025 lifetime exemption, not the exemption existing at your death.
Irrevocable Trusts
Irrevocable trusts generally cannot be changed or canceled. As long as you lack functional control over the property within them, you exclude irrevocable trusts from your estate.
Common irrevocable trusts include:
- Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs)—hold and manage life insurance policies;
- Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)—allow you to transfer appreciating assets to beneficiaries while retaining income from the assets for a fixed period;
- Spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT)—one spouse creates a trust to benefit the other, enabling the creator to maintain indirect access to assets while shielding them from creditors and taxes; and
- Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs)—allow you to transfer a home at a discounted value while continuing to live there for a set number of years.
These tools must be properly and carefully structured to take advantage of the tax savings they offer. For example, if both spouses want to create SLATs, the trusts cannot be identical. They must have meaningful differences, or the IRS may consider the amounts within them to still be part of each spouse’s respective estate.
Family Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs)
Family Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) and Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs) are business entities you can use to:
- Manage and efficiently transfer family-owned assets,
- Reduce the value of transferred interests for tax purposes,
- Allow family members to retain control over assets, and
- Provide gifts over time using a phased process.
You must carefully structure family LLCs and FLPs to follow IRS rules and state law.
Charitable Giving
Charitable giving can reduce estate tax liability while supporting causes you care about. Common approaches include:
- Charitable remainder trusts (CRTs)—provide income to you or someone else for life, then transfer the remaining assets to charity;
- Donor-advised funds—donate to an account held at a public charity or sponsoring organization, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants for the fund to provide to charitable organizations; and
- Bequests—direct donations to a charity.
These methods also allow you to leave a lasting philanthropic legacy.
The Role of Estate Tax Planning Attorneys
An experienced estate tax planning attorney evaluates your financial circumstances and works with you to design a plan to help you reduce or avoid estate and gift taxes by:
- Advising you on state and federal law;
- Identifying tax-saving opportunities;
- Drafting legal documents; and
- Coordinating with financial advisors, accountants, and other professionals to align your estate plan and overall financial strategy.
At Mills & Anderson, we lead each case with personal attention, precision, flexibility, and adaptability.
Talk to a Las Vegas Estate Tax Planning Attorney Today
At Mills & Anderson, we offer personalized estate and tax planning services to help you minimize tax burdens. Our estate tax planning attorneys personally manage every case with integrity, compassion, and the knowledge that comes from experience. Contact Mills & Anderson today to schedule a consultation with one of our Las Vegas estate and tax planning lawyers.
