{"id":14137,"date":"2025-09-24T19:17:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/?p=14137"},"modified":"2025-09-24T19:20:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T19:20:26","slug":"portability-in-estate-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/portability-in-estate-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Portability In Estate Planning?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Essentially, portability in estate planning is a tax provision that allows the surviving spouse to add any unused estate tax exemption of the deceased spouse to their own.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_76 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/portability-in-estate-planning\/#What_Does_Portability_Mean_In_Estate_Planning\" >What Does Portability Mean In Estate Planning?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/portability-in-estate-planning\/#Understanding_Portability\" >Understanding Portability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/portability-in-estate-planning\/#Portability_Benefits\" >Portability Benefits<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/portability-in-estate-planning\/#Limitations_Of_Portability\" >Limitations Of Portability<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/webtechs-designs.com\/2023Ogborne\/portability-in-estate-planning\/#Collaborative_Divorce_And_Child_Custody\" >Collaborative Divorce And Child Custody<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Does_Portability_Mean_In_Estate_Planning\"><\/span>What Does Portability Mean In Estate Planning?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As mentioned above, portability is an estate planning tax provision that allows the surviving spouse to add any unused estate tax exemption of the deceased spouse to their own.<\/p>\n<p>The unused exemption can also be referred to as the Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE). Portability was first introduced to protect families from large estate taxes.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Understanding_Portability\"><\/span>Understanding Portability<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To fully understand the role of portability in estate planning, it&#8217;s crucial to know the estate tax exemption. As of\u00a0 2023, the IRS allowed $11.7 million per individual as the amount of an estate to pass to heirs completely tax-free.<\/p>\n<p>If one spouse passes away without using their entire exemption, the portion remaining can be transferred to the surviving spouse.<\/p>\n<p>However, this process doesn&#8217;t happen automatically. To use portability, the decedent&#8217;s spousal executor of the estate needs to elect it on a well-timed filed estate tax return, even if there is currently no tax due. This IRS form 706 is very comprehensive, requiring detailed asset and liability listings.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Portability_Benefits\"><\/span>Portability Benefits<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The number one benefit of portability is the potential to greatly reduce the estate tax burden. For example, if one spouse passes away and their estate doesn&#8217;t use up the entire estate tax exemption, portability is there to allow the surviving spouse to utilize the portion that is unused. This essentially increases the surviving spouse&#8217;s estate tax exemption, which could potentially be up to twice the individual exemption limit.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, portability provides flexibility in asset protection planning. The surviving spouse can access the entire estate while still keeping the unused estate tax exemption, since it doesn&#8217;t require the use of trust structures, such as the bypass trust.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Limitations_Of_Portability\"><\/span>Limitations Of Portability<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Portability does, however, feature a few limitations. This only applies to estate taxes and not generation-skipping transfer taxes. This means the DSUE cannot be applied to shield transfers to grandkids from taxes.<\/p>\n<p>DSUE is not indexed for inflation, meaning the benefit could be eaten up by inflation. Also, portability is only available between spouses, and only the most recent deceased spouse&#8217;s DSUE amount can be utilized.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>&#8220;Maximizing Your Assets: A Guide To Portability In Estate Planning.&#8221; Doane &amp; Doane <a href=\"https:\/\/www.doaneanddoane.com\/maximizing-your-assets-a-guide-to-portability-in-estate-planning\">https:\/\/www.doaneanddoane.com\/maximizing-your-assets-a-guide-to-portability-in-estate-planning<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Collaborative_Divorce_And_Child_Custody\"><\/span>Collaborative Divorce And Child Custody<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d13295.289322404855!2d-111.972881!3d33.583962!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x0%3A0xa02db9a3ce093e9d!2sOgborne%20Law%20PLC!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1575490314048!5m2!1sen!2sus\" width=\"100%\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ogbornelaw.com\/3-questions-regarding-divorce-for-a-family-law-attorney\/\">Discussions about child custody<\/a>\u00a0issues are always difficult during a divorce. While there is no way to make them easy or comfortable, you can find ways to work together. The collaborative divorce process helps with tools and professionals to make child custody and other decisions a little more manageable. By working together as a team, you\u2019re able to make the decisions that are best for the kids.<\/p>\n<p>Collaborative divorce can make these challenging times more manageable. It requires you to work with your spouse at a time when you have decided you need to go your separate ways. When it comes to child custody, though, you want to do all you can to make the right parenting decisions. Collaborative divorce can help create pathways for you to cooperate. If you live in the Phoenix\/Scottsdale area and want to learn more about collaborative divorce,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/ogbornelaw.com\/contact\/\">contact Ogborne Law today<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Essentially, portability in estate planning is a tax provision that allows the surviving spouse to add any unused estate tax exemption of the deceased spouse to their own. What Does Portability Mean In Estate Planning? As mentioned above, portability is an estate planning tax provision that allows the surviving spouse to add any unused estate&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14141,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estate-planning","category-37","description-off"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Is Portability In Estate Planning? | Ogborne Law<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is Portability In Estate Planning? | Ogborne Law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Essentially, portability in estate planning is a tax provision that allows the surviving spouse to add any unused estate tax exemption of the deceased spouse to their own. 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