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

Agreement by the insured that, simply because the insurer investigates and determines a value for the claim, the insurer does not admit liability for the claim. ...

Reserve at the beginning of the policy year that is equal to the terminal reserve for the preceding year plus the net level premium for the current year. ...

Phrase used to describe a method of annuity payout that guarantees a specified number of years, regardless of whether an annuitant remains alive. ...

Plan for excess layer (s) of insurance coverage over the primary coverage, for example, if a corporation buys $8 million as excess above a $2 million self insurance retention level. Excess ...

Coverage during the transfer of securities and monies, precious metals, and other specified types of valuables by armored guard services. Policies are specifically designed to fit an ...

Financial statement, issued by the insurance company on a monthly basis to its agents, showing for each agent his or her commissions earned, premiums written, policy cancellations, and any ...

Homeowners policy to cover the owner of a townhouse. ...

Base upon which a mortality table is built by beginning with a randomly selected group of people who are alive at the earliest age for which statistics are available on the number of people ...

Property coverage on a dealer's interest in equipment while it is being installed. Labor and material are protected against such perils as fire, lightning, and windstorm. For example, if an ...

Popular Insurance Questions