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

Assets that are not readily convertible into cash 'without a significant loss of principle, such as an automobile, a house, television set, a radio, etc. ...

number of people born as a percentage of the total population in any given period of time. ...

Insurance company's total investments in financial securities. ...

a contract in life insurance that includes elements of whole life and term insurance. in pensions, a combined life insurance policy and a side (auxiliary) fund to enhance the amount of a ...

Retirement plan under which benefits are fixed in advance by formula, and contributions vary. The defined benefit plan can be expressed in either of two ways: Fixed Dollars: Unit benefit ...

Same as term Annual Policy: contract remaining in force for up to 12 months unless canceled earlier. After 12 months the policy can either be renewed or not renewed by the insurance company ...

Commercial life insurers that operate on the legal reserve system as opposed to fraternal life insurance companies, many of which now operate on a legal reserve basis. ...

Chart showing rate of death at each age in terms of number of deaths per thousand. ...

Insurance arrangement in which all employees of a given business firm are accepted into a plan regardless of their physical condition. The employee cannot be required to take a physical ...

Popular Insurance Questions