Marital Deduction, Credit-Shelter, QTIP, and Disclaimer Trusts
A-B planning mechanics, QTIP elections, the disclaimer alternative, and choosing between bypass funding and portability.
What this guide covers
- A-B planning shelters the first exemption and captures growth outside the survivor's estate; the marital share preserves a second step-up.
- QTIP marries marital deduction with remainder control — essential for blended families; use a reverse-QTIP election to preserve GST exemption.
- Disclaimer planning maximizes post-mortem flexibility but depends on a valid, timely qualified disclaimer.
- Portability is simplest and preserves step-up, but a funded bypass trust wins for growth, GST, creditor protection, and low-exemption states.
The full guide includes the detailed analysis, worked examples, statutory citations, and related resources below.
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Educational reference, not legal advice. Prepared for licensed professionals as general reference; not legal advice and no attorney-client relationship is created. Law varies by state and changes over time — verify transfer-tax figures and statutory citations against current primary authority. This resource was last updated 2026-07-31. Estateur is not a law firm.