Grantor-retained Income Trust (grit)

Definition of "Grantor-retained income trust (grit)"

Irrevocable trust into which the grantor places assets and retains the income from or the use of these assets for a stipulated period of time. At the termination of this time period, the principal (assets) of the trust is transferred to the grantor's non charitable beneficiary. The non charitable beneficiary may include individual (s) such as a grandchild, niece, nephew, son, or daughter. Should the grantor survive the stipulated period of time, he or she will incur substantial savings in estate and gift taxes. In order for these savings in taxes to occur, the following requirements must be met by the grantor:

  1. income to the grantor must be the sole result of the income generated by assets held in the trust.
  2. any income generated by the assets held in the trust can be paid only to the grantor of the trust.
  3. neither the grantor nor the spouse of the grantor can act as a trustee of the trust.
  4. any income retained by the grantor must be for a period of time not to exceed 10 years.
Should the grantor die before the stipulated period of time the trust expires, the value of the assets of the trust are included in the grantor's estate for FEDERAL ESTATE TAX purposes, even though the assets are not physically transferred to the estate of the grantor.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Model state law of the NAIC that stipulates that the contract owner must receive annual reports concerning the annuity unit values, the manner in which the variable benefits are calculated, ...

Proportion of a premium allocated to pay losses, which is equivalent to (1.00 - expense ratio). ...

Individual (s) entitled to receive the income generated by the trust. ...

Plan that provides protection in the event of legal actions resulting from charges of harassment, discrimination, wrongful termination of employment, defamation, and invasion of privacy. ...

Person for whom the trust was created and who receives the benefits thereof. In many instances a trust is established to prevent the careless exhaustion of an estate. For example, the ...

Right of survivors to the interest in property of a deceased joint tenant as the result of property held in joint tenancy. ...

Coverage that provides monthly income payments for as long as an insured remains disabled. The insurance policy defines the nature of the disability it covers. Most policies discontinue ...

What is SSDI? It is a form of financial aid for people living with a disability that impacts their quality of life. As one of the largest Federal programs designed to provide assistance to ...

basic feature of the social security act under which benefits paid are associated with the employee's earnings that have been taxed during the employment period. ...

Popular Insurance Questions