The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA” or the “Act”), signed into law on July 4, 2025, made permanent changes to federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes. This landmark legislation has transformed the estate planning landscape, creating both new opportunities and challenges that require careful consideration and strategic planning.
Major Changes to Estate Tax Exemptions
The most significant change brought by the Big Beautiful Bill is the dramatic increase in federal estate tax exemptions. The Act permanently extends the doubled gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax exclusion amount to $15 million per individual and $30 million per married couple, indexed for inflation. This represents a substantial increase from previous levels and provides permanent certainty that was previously lacking in estate planning.
Due to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federal estate tax exemption will increase to a new, “permanent” $15 million exemption as of January 1, 2026. For married couples, this means a combined exemption of $30 million, effectively removing estate tax concerns for all but the wealthiest families in America.
Impact on Estate Planning Strategies
This dramatic increase in exemption amounts has fundamentally shifted estate planning approaches. The requirement to aggressively transfer significant assets before the end of 2025 has generally ended. For clients with projected balance sheets in excess of $15M (single) or $30M (married), current gifts can still have a significant benefit by moving future appreciation out of the taxable estate.
The new law eliminates the previous urgency many families felt to complete large transfers before exemption amounts potentially decreased. Instead, estate planning can now focus on longer-term strategies that maximize family wealth preservation and provide greater flexibility in wealth transfer timing.
Enhanced 529 Plan Benefits
The Act broadens 529 plan qualified expenses and introduces “Trump” accounts with a $1,000 contribution feature, expanding educational savings opportunities for families. These enhancements make 529 plans even more attractive vehicles for multi-generational wealth transfer while providing tax-advantaged growth for educational expenses.
Advanced Strategies Remain Valuable
Despite the increased exemptions, sophisticated estate planning techniques continue to provide significant value. Proven strategies like SLATs, GRATs, ILITs, and dynasty trusts are gaining traction as families seek flexibility and tax efficiency. These advanced strategies become particularly important for families with assets exceeding the new exemption thresholds or those seeking to maximize wealth transfer efficiency.
Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) allow married couples to make large gifts while maintaining indirect access to transferred assets. Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) enable wealth transfer with minimal gift tax consequences, particularly effective in low interest rate environments. Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) provide liquidity for estate taxes while keeping life insurance proceeds outside the taxable estate.
Why You Need an Estate Planning Attorney
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act represents a significant overhaul of the U.S. tax code, making permanent many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and containing several provisions that impact estate planning and the management of private wealth. This complexity underscores why working with an estate planning attorney who stays current with evolving tax law is essential.
Estate planning law is increasingly complex and changes frequently. The Big Beautiful Bill alone contains numerous provisions affecting charitable giving, business succession planning, qualified small business stock exclusions, and trust administration that require deep expertise to navigate effectively. An attorney who doesn’t stay current with these changes may miss crucial planning opportunities or recommend strategies that are no longer optimal under current law.
The Importance of Staying Up-to-Date
Tax law changes don’t occur in isolation, they interact with state laws, court decisions, and regulatory guidance in ways that can significantly impact planning effectiveness. Massachusetts has its own estate tax with a $2 million exemption, creating unique planning considerations that require coordination between federal and state strategies.
Estate planning attorneys must understand not only the letter of new laws but also their practical implications, implementation challenges, and how they interact with existing plans. The Big Beautiful Bill’s changes may require modifications to existing trusts, updates to estate planning documents, and reconsideration of previously implemented strategies.
How Roark & Mansur Can Help You
Our firm’s dual expertise in estate planning and elder law creates unique advantages in the post-Big Beautiful Bill landscape. We offer comprehensive estate planning services that coordinate federal estate tax strategies with Massachusetts’ $2 million state exemption, ensuring your plan addresses both federal opportunities and state-specific challenges.
Our structured process begins with a no-charge 30-minute initial consultation where we review your completed questionnaire alongside your financial documents. We then provide fee estimates upfront and draft instruments for your review before execution. For trust-based plans, we provide detailed funding instructions to ensure you realize the maximum intended benefits.
Our team includes attorneys with insurance licensing credentials, allowing us to evaluate existing life insurance policies and recommend coverage that integrates seamlessly with your estate plan. This is particularly valuable when designing liquidity strategies for families approaching the new exemption thresholds.
We also handle the ongoing administration challenges that sophisticated planning creates – from trust administration and probate matters to Medicaid application filing and fair hearing representation. Our boutique approach means you work directly with experienced attorneys who understand how regulatory changes affect existing plans and can modify strategies as laws evolve.
Whether you’re implementing new strategies or updating existing plans, we ensure your estate plan remains effective and aligned with your family’s goals.
Our Services Include:
- Free 30-minute initial consultation
- Upfront fee estimates before drafting
- Coordinated federal and state tax planning
- Life insurance policy evaluation and recommendations
- Trust funding guidance and implementation support
- Medicaid application filing and hearing representation
- Ongoing trust and estate administration
- Plan updates for changing laws
- Direct attorney access throughout process
Moving Forward with Confidence
The Big Beautiful Bill has created a new paradigm for estate planning, emphasizing long-term wealth preservation strategies over crisis-driven asset transfers. However, this new landscape requires careful navigation by experienced professionals who understand both the opportunities and pitfalls created by recent changes.
At Roark & Mansur Law, we stay current with all developments in estate planning law, ensuring our clients receive advice based on the most recent legal changes and their practical implications. The Big Beautiful Bill represents just the latest in ongoing changes to estate planning law, reinforcing the importance of working with attorneys committed to staying at the forefront of this evolving field.
Whether you’re reviewing existing plans in light of new exemption amounts or developing comprehensive strategies to take advantage of new opportunities, having knowledgeable legal counsel ensures your estate plan remains effective and aligned with your family’s goals in this new legal environment. Contact us today to discuss your tax and estate planning with an experienced lawyer.