Due to the generous amount of the Unified Tax Credit, as currently formulated under the Federal tax laws, individuals are now permitted to transfer significant wealth free of any Federal gift, estate or generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes. However, certain favorable features of the current Unified Tax Credit are scheduled to “sunset” on January 1, 2026, which will, absent further Congressional action, result in a significant reduction in the amount of the Unified Tax Credit on that date. Accordingly, now is an ideal time for an owner of real property that is the subject of an oil and gas lease (or the owner of an interest in a family limited partnership or limited liability company that owns real property subject to an oil and gas lease) to consider gifting interests in such real property (or preferably interests in an entity owning such real property) to the owner’s children or others.
Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald regularly assists property owners with these types of issues. If you are interested in learning more about these issues, please contact Paul T. Rushton, the Chair of our Business & Finance Department, at 570-826-5623 or prushton@rjglaw.com. We will be pleased to assist you with these important considerations.