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

Section of the insurance company that administers claims for the losses incurred by the insured. ...

Allocation of monetary resources to equities. ...

Procedure under which the ceding company (the primary or fronting company) cedes the risk it has underwritten to its reinsurer with the ceding company retaining none or a very small portion ...

Form of cash refund annuity used by contributory pension or employee benefit plans. When employee participants die before receiving all of their contributions in the form of retirement ...

Estimate of maximum dollar value that can be lost under realistic situations. For example, a fire or other peril occurs, but a sprinkler system works and a fire department responds in good ...

Factor considered in determining amount of life insurance to purchase in order that funds will be available to pay the emergency expenses following the death of a family member. ...

Highest price investor is willing to pay for a stock or mutual fund unit and lowest price a seller of a stock or mutual fund is willing to accept. ...

Written contract between an insured and an insurance company stating the obligations and responsibilities of each party. ...

Individual in charge of an insurance company agency. The manager is an employee of the company and is usually compensated on a salary-and-bonus basis, the latter relating to premium volume ...

Popular Insurance Questions