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

Same as term Fixed Dollar Annuity: annuity that guarantees that a specific sum of money will be paid in the future, usually as monthly income, to an annuitant. For example, a $1000-a-month ...

Statutory accounting principles (SAP), as listed in the insurance company's annual financial statements filed with the insurance commissioner of each state in which it is licensed. Income ...

Coverage for the expenses incurred by a business resulting from the recall of products, whether defective or not. ...

Measurement of the response of the cash flow of an insurance company to various interest rate scenarios; for example, how rising interest rates will affect the number of life insurance ...

Trust to which a donor transfers assets and that distributes income to finance a predetermined situation. After the trust expires, any remaining assets are donated to the qualified charity ...

Same as term: generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP): ...

Home office underwriter who evaluates risk based on probability, statistics, and medical knowledge. ...

State law that limits the admitted value of an insurance company's EDP equipment to 3% of the company's ADJUSTED SURPLUS. ...

Provision applied as a rider attached to an ordinary life insurance policy for the purpose of meeting estate planning requirements. When the insured dies, the beneficiary is entitled to ...

Popular Insurance Questions