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

Attributes of a particular employee benefit plan. For example, a general characteristic of group life insurance is that the whole group is underwritten, not individual members. ...

Insurance that offers blanket coverage up to a certain dollar amount on all property of the classification covered by the policy. Floater policies, which cover property wherever it happens ...

Same as term Class: group of insureds with the same characteristics, established for rate-making purposes. For example, all wood-frame houses within 200 feet of a fire plug in the same ...

Section of the code that qualifies that the death benefit paid under a life insurance policy is received by the beneficiary income-tax free. These tax consequences apply regardless of the ...

Independent, nonprofit, membership hospital plan. Benefits provided include coverage for hospitalization expenses subject to certain restrictions: for example, semiprivate room only. A ...

Act of starting a fire; arson. Arson is a covered peril under a property insurance contract, provided that the owner of the property is not responsible for the arson. ...

Cost per unit of insurance. ...

Provision in a life insurance policy that if an insured dies within a given period of time, the beneficiary receives the face value of the policy plus its cash value. ...

Type of proportional reinsurance under which the ceding company (primary insurer) cedes a portion of the face amount of the life insurance policy it has underwritten to its reinsurer. The ...

Popular Insurance Questions