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

Federal agency that regulates commerce across state lines. The ICC does not oversee insurance, which is subject to regulation by the states according to Public Law 15, McCarran-Ferguson ...

Sum of money paid on the principal amount of money invested or loaned. ...

Legislation mandating that factors taken into account in the calculation of premium rates for automobile insurance include the insured's driving record, annual miles driven, and years of ...

Endorsement to personal automobile policy (PAP) that covers an insured involved in a collision with a driver who does not have liability insurance. ...

fee that is the most consistently charged by the physician for a particular procedure. fee that is usual for a particular procedure charged by the majority of physicians with similar ...

Term referring to the most common charge, in health insurance, for a service. ...

Employee benefit plan that allows the employee to choose among several different benefits offered by the employer. In essence, the employee is provided with the opportunity to make a ...

Means used by a direct fire underwriter to protect against accumulation for a fire account, as well as against extremely large fire account liability. For example, heavy liabilities under ...

Unfunded trust that acts as the owner of a life insurance policy. The trust receives a donor's cash payments on a periodic basis, from which the beneficiary of the trust has a specified ...

Popular Insurance Questions