President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
President Trump entered office having won the electoral college and with relatively strong approval ratings. On his first day in office, he issued over 25 executive orders, and in his first 30 days, he issued more than 70,1 seeking to make good on his promises to transform the federal government, ignite an economic boom, and revive the American Dream.2
The Trump administration has been unable to produce much in the way of legislation, however; the president has run into political and economic realities that have slowed his momentum and made it harder to deliver on his promises, some of which could impact your estate planning and financial decisions.
Estate, Tax, and Wealth Planning Implications of Trump’s Actions
Despite the many uncertainties facing Trump’s agenda, his administration has strongly signaled that tax-related measures are a top priority.
Trump and Republicans want to extend many provisions from the expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the president signed into law in his first term.3 There could also be new tax cuts, such as Trump’s proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits.4
Here are some of Trump’s and the GOP’s reported tax priorities for their economic package:
- Estate and gift tax. The TCJA doubled the estate and gift tax exemption to historically high levels that are set to expire in 2026. Senate majority leader John Thune introduced a bill in February to repeal the estate tax, sometimes referred to as the death tax.5 Further, a full repeal of the estate tax is reportedly part of the tax bill negotiations.6 Another option on the table is to extend the current exemption rather than repealing it outright.
- Individual and business tax cuts. The TCJA also included several provisions that benefit businesses and individual taxpayers, including pass-through income deduction, business expense deductions, changes to income tax brackets, mortgage interest and charitable donation deductions, an increased standard deduction, and additional tax relief via the Child Tax Credit. Extending the TCJA would likely keep these tax benefits in place.
- State and local tax (SALT) deductions. The administration is considering removing or increasing the current $10,000 cap on SALT deductions imposed by the TCJA.7 This change would benefit taxpayers in states with high property and income taxes, allowing greater federal tax deductions.
- Closing the carried interest loophole. Trump has stated his intention to close the carried interest loophole that allows investment managers of private equity and hedge funds to benefit from reduced capital gains tax rates on carried interest, provided a three-year holding period is met.8
- Capital gains taxes. The TCJA separated tax-rate income brackets for capital gains and dividend income from the tax brackets for ordinary income. If the TCJA expires and this provision is not addressed legislatively, some taxpayers could face higher capital gains taxes in 2026.9
If you are currently affected by any of these TCJA tax laws, or if you are not sure whether they affect you, contact us so we can discuss ways to help you prepare for them ending in 2026 or being extended this year.
For example, depending on your risk appetite and estate size, you may want to use gifting and trust-based strategies to lock in currently high exemption levels or sell some of your highly appreciated securities now to avoid potentially higher capital gains in 2026.
Control What You Can Control
While we hope to get more legislative clarity in the next 100 days of the Trump presidency, you should focus on controlling what you can through your estate plan and aim to maintain flexibility. This includes doing things such as updating your will or trust, creating an incapacity plan, updating beneficiary designations on financial accounts and insurance policies, and talking to your attorney about ways to hedge against potential outcomes in your plan. That way, if any major policy changes that affect your finances and family do come to pass, you will be ready to make targeted adjustments.
Maintaining flexibility and focusing on fundamentals are key during transition periods like the one we are experiencing now.
1 2025 Donald J. Trump Executive Orders, Fed. Reg.: Executive Orders,
https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025 (last visited Apr.
21, 2025).
2 Natalie Sherman, Has Trump Promised Too Much on US Economy? BBC (Jan. 17, 2025),
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17d41y70deo. 3 Preparing for the Expiration of the TCJA in 2025, Bloomberg Tax (Mar. 28, 2025),
https://pro.bloombergtax.com/insights/federal-tax/what-is-the-future-of-the-tcja/#will-the-tcja-be-extended. 4 Alex Isenstadt, Scoop: Trump Lays Out Tax Priorities to House GOP, Axios (Feb. 6, 2025),
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/06/trump-no-tax-on-tips-social-security-overtime. 5 Press Release, John Thune, Thune Leads Effort to Permanently Repeal the Death Tax (Feb. 13, 2025),
https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2025/2/thune-leads-effort-to-permanently-repeal-the-death-tax. 6 Kevin Frekin et al., Senate GOP Approves Framework for Trump’s Tax Breaks and Spending Cuts After Late-Night
Session, AP (Apr. 5, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/senate-budget-tax-cuts-trump485845a9c0b7dfc5d2194d4c1e4723ae.
7 Trump Tax Priorities Total $5 to $11 Trillion, Comm. for a Responsible Fed. Budget (Feb. 6, 2025),
https://www.crfb.org/blogs/trump-tax-priorities-total-5-11-trillion. 8 Aimee Picchi, Trump Wants to Close the Carried Interest Tax Loophole, a Longtime Target of Democrats, CBS
News (Feb. 7, 2025), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-tax-taxes-carried-interest-loophole-hedge-funds. 9 How Did the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Change Personal Taxes?, Tax Pol’y Ctr. (Jan. 2024),
https://taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-did-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-change-personal-taxes.
How to Make the Next 100 Days Impactful
What comes to mind when you think of spring?
Maybe it is blooming flowers, buzzing insects, singing birds, or the fresh smell of the earth after a rain. Your thoughts might turn to outdoor pursuits as the days grow warmer and longer. Memorial Day is not far off, marking the unofficial start of summer. Soon, the summer solstice will arrive, followed by the Fourth of July, the kids going back to school, and Labor Day.
Before lamenting how quickly the time has passed and what you never got around to doing, it can be helpful for your personal, professional, and financial well-being to step back and give some thought and energy to reevaluating your goals and priorities for the next 100 days.
Spring is an opportune season for housekeeping, both literally and metaphorically. It is time to throw open the windows of your life, let in the fresh air, and catch up on the small chores that often get pushed aside amid modern life’s frenetic pace—including dusting off your estate plan, clearing away outdated documents, and tidying up your financial house.
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring (Cleaning)
According to the American Cleaning Institute (ACI), 80 percent of Americans engage in an annual spring-cleaning routine.1 The top areas people target in their homes are those that tend to get overlooked in daily and weekly cleaning, including floors and baseboards, storage spaces, windows, and areas behind furniture.2
Atop our list of dreaded places to clean are the spaces that are hard to access (such as underneath appliances) and have accumulated a winter’s worth of grime (e.g., bathrooms, vents, and basements). However, 80 percent of Americans also told ACI that cleaning those filthy spots is better than at least one other seasonal activity: doing their taxes.3
Spring cleaning has roots in cultures and religious traditions that date back centuries, including the Jewish practice of cleaning homes to remove chametz (leavened bread) for Passover and the Iranian tradition of khaneh tekani (“shaking the house”) before the Persian New Year.
Some Christian traditions, such as cleaning the church altar before Good Friday or cleaning for Lent, also have elements of spring cleaning. In China, a thorough cleaning of the house before the Lunar New Year is a tradition that incorporates religious practices and symbolizes sweeping away ill fortune to make room for positive energy in the coming year.
In nineteenth-century America, the custom of spring cleaning took hold as pioneers swept out the soot and grime from winter’s coal once warmer days allowed open windows.
A spotless house can have a therapeutic effect that gives you a sense of control and the peace of mind that your family is living in a clean, safe environment. The same thinking can also apply
to your estate plan.
In a recent survey, nearly one-quarter of Americans said that they have not updated their estate plan since creating it.4 Others have not touched it in the past 10 years and, for some, it has been 15 years or more.5
Like those spots under the couch and behind the refrigerator, your estate plan, if left untouched in a drawer, can gather dust. You need to occasionally take it out and clear away outdated beneficiaries, guardians, and powers of attorney; spruce up your list of assets; and scrub clean the dingy aspects of your plan so they clearly reflect your current life circumstances.
For example, maybe you recently opened an investment account that has not been added to your estate plan. There could also be events, such as a birth, death, or marriage in the family, that affect your plan. If you do not polish up your plan once in a while, you risk a stain on your legacy by not leaving your money and property to the right people in the right way.
With the dreaded tax season behind us, now is also a good time to dust off financial strategies for the year ahead, such as reviewing deductions, contributions, and estimated tax payments; organizing financial documents for the first half of the year; preparing for midyear adjustments; going over any changes to tax and estate planning laws; assessing asset allocations; and, if you filed a tax extension, preparing for the October 15 deadline.
Shifting from Tax Breaks to Summer Break
Summer vacation is something you may look forward to year-round but start preparing for months in advance. However, if you do not give your vacation plans a once-over in the weeks and months leading up to departure, you could find that there are some spots that need a touchup.
Many Americans skipped their summer vacation last year due to affordability concerns.6 However, more than one-third were so committed to traveling over the summer that they said they were willing to go into debt to pay for their trip.
If you plan to vacation this summer, you can get your pre-getaway ducks in a row by taking the following steps:
- Schedule bill payments
- Inform your bank and credit card companies about your plans to avoid account freezes or card blocks
- Secure travel documents (e.g., passports and insurance cards)
- Check local laws at your destination to avoid legal, cultural, and safety and security issues
- Ensure that your financial and healthcare powers of attorney are valid, accurate, and, for international travel, recognized in the country you plan to visit
An Estate Plan for All Season
Aligning our personal and professional lives with the natural rhythm of the seasons and the rituals surrounding it can help us feel more grounded. Viewed in this context, estate planning is not just about documents—it reflects the dynamic, ever-changing flux of life and the need to harmonize with it.
Seasons change, lives change, and estate plans should change as we encounter certain natural milestones and key life events, such as birth or adoption; a beneficiary reaching adulthood; illness, death, or disability in the family; starting a job or closing a business; or a significant change in asset values or net worth.
Life, like spring weather, can be unpredictable and change quickly. However, with the right plan and the right advisors in place, you can be prepared for whichever way the wind blows.
As you look ahead to the next 100 days, take time this spring to remove the cobwebs from your estate plan, sweep your financial floors clean, and clear the decks for a stress-free and enjoyable summer.
Are You Ready to Clean Behind the Couch? Americans List Their Spring Cleaning Targets, Am. Cleaning Inst. (Mar.
4, 2025), https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/newsroom/2025/are-you-ready-clean-behind-couch-americans-listtheir-spring-cleaning-targets. 2 Id.
3 ACI Survey: 80% of Americans Now Spring Clean Every Year, ACI (Mar. 6, 2024),
https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/newsroom/2024/aci-survey-80-americans-now-spring-clean-every-year.
4 Victoria Lurie, 2025 Wills and Estate Planning Study, Caring (Mar. 31, 2025),
https://www.caring.com/caregivers/estate-planning/wills-survey. 5 Id.
6 Katie Kelton, Survey: More Than 1 in 3 American Travelers Plan to Go into Debt for Their Summer Vacations This
Year, Bankrate (Apr. 22, 2024), https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/news/survey-summer-vacation. 7 Id.
Notable Estate Planning Legislation
No matter the time of year, taxes are always a hot topic. While we usually think about taxes in terms of how they affect us today, it can be equally important to understand the history of tax laws that can impact your estate plan.
The Estate and Gift Tax
Taxation of property transfers at death dates as far back as 700 BCE in ancient Egypt. It was also used in Rome and feudal Europe.
The United States estate tax was introduced in 1916.1 Estate and gift taxes play a significant role in individual estate planning, but their contribution to the overall federal budget is relatively small, typically accounting for approximately 1 percent of total federal revenue.2 In 2023, it was estimated that only around 0.14 percent of estates were taxable.3
The federal estate tax was advocated by progressive reformers during a time of great wealth concentration and inequality (think Gilded Age figures like Carnegie and Rockefeller).4 An initial exemption, or exclusion amount, of $50,000 was allowed.5
In the decades since the estate tax’s inception, Congress has made additions and revisions to its structure. These changes include a tax on so-called inter vivos, or lifetime, gifts in 1932 to prevent wealthy taxpayers from circumventing the estate tax by gifting assets during their lifetime; a marital deduction introduced in 1948 that allows tax-free transfers to qualifying surviving spouses; and the 1976 Tax Reform Act, which created a unified estate and gift tax exemption.6
Over the years, the estate tax exemption amount increased from $50,000 in 1916 to $2 million in 20067 to $5.49 million in 2017—the year before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) went into effect.8 The annual gift tax exclusion has increased as well, from $3,000 per individual in 1976 to $12,000 in 20069 to $14,000 in 2017.10
Today, thanks to the TCJA, the estate and gift tax unified exemption is at an all-time high. The lifetime exclusion is currently $13.99 million for individuals and $27.98 million for married couples,11 while the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per person and $38,000 for married couples.12 Taxes on generation-skipping transfers match the estate tax exemption. However, these allowances are set to revert to the much lower pre-TCJA levels in 2026 unless Congress acts to extend or modify them.
The Income Tax
While not a direct tax on estates, the income tax has ramifications throughout the estate planning process, from the taxation of estate assets and trusts to beneficiary taxes, capital gains, and charitable contributions.
The US did not have a permanent federal income tax until 191313—more than a century after Benjamin Franklin’s famous “death and taxes” quip. That was the year the Sixteenth Amendment was passed, giving Congress the authority to levy taxes on corporate and individual income. Today, income tax revenue makes up nearly half of all federal revenue and is the largest source of government funding.14
Income taxes are not quite as inevitable as Franklin would have us believe. Tens of millions of Americans owe little or no federal income tax each year.15 Like the estate tax, the income tax has its roots in war efforts and a Progressive Era push for wealthy individuals to pay taxes and tariffs.16 Rates started at 1–7 percent on incomes above $3,000.17 Top rates soared during World War I and World War II and peaked at 94 percent for top taxpayers in 1944,18 the year Congress created the standard deduction.19
Other key changes to the federal income tax over the years include the earned income tax credit in 1975;20 the 1986 Tax Reform Act that simplified and restructured the tax code and dropped the top rate to 28 percent;21 the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which set the top rate at 39.6 percent post-recession;22 and 2017’s TCJA.
The TCJA temporarily dropped tax rates across seven brackets and permanently lowered the corporate tax rate. It also increased the standard deduction and the child tax credit, capped state and local tax deductions, added deductions for pass-through income and business deductions, and nearly doubled the estate tax exemption.23
Navigating an Uncertain Tax Future
In a spring survey, voters said by a nearly three-to-one margin that they favor permanently extending the TCJA.24 President Trump and Republicans in Congress are also pushing for TCJA extensions.
If Congress acts at all, it may postpone TCJA extensions, either short-term or long-term, until the last few weeks or even days or hours of this year. Historically, major tax bills in a new administration’s first year (e.g., the TCJA in December 2017) often land in the fall, or lame-duck, session.25 President Trump did not sign the TCJA into law until three days before Christmas 2017.
Congress may wait until the eleventh hour to act, but you do not have to. You can work with an estate planning attorney on contingency plans that account for different scenarios, including the estate tax exemption and individual tax rates remaining at current levels or reverting to pre TCJA levels. Potential strategies include shifting 2026 income into 2025, prepaying expenses, contributing to tax-advantaged accounts, using the bonus depreciation and qualified business income (QBI) deductions, gifting assets, and creating and funding irrevocable trusts.
Changes to your estate plan can take weeks or months to implement. Delaying action on your plan could put you at a disadvantage if you are caught unprepared for what Congress does or does not do. Changes do not have to be permanent. Some can be a temporary hedge, while other proactive measures may prove to be prescient. To talk about specific tax policies and how they might affect your estate plan, please contact us at 650-397-9300.
1 Darien B. Jacobson et al., The Estate Tax: Ninety Years and Counting, 27 Stats. of Income Bull., no. 1, Summer
2007, at 118, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/ninetyestate.pdf. 2 U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Serv., How Much Revenue Has the U.S. Government Collected This
Year?, Fiscal Data, https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/government-revenue (last visited Apr.
21, 2025).
3 How Many People Pay the Estate Tax?, Tax Pol’y Ctr. (Jan. 2024), https://taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/howmany-people-pay-estate-tax. 4 Chuck Collins, Long Live the Estate Tax, U.S. News & World Rep. (Sept. 8, 2016),
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-09-08/americas-second-best-idea-the-estate-tax. 5 Jacobson et al., supra note 17, at 120.
6 Id. at 121. 7 Federal Estate and Gift Tax Rates, Exemptions, and Exclusions, 1916–2014, Tax Found. (Feb. 4, 2014),
https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/federal-estate-and-gift-tax-rates-exemptions-and-exclusions-1916-
2014.
8 Estate Tax, IRS (Oct. 29, 2024), https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/estate-tax. 9 Federal Estate and Gift Tax Rates, Exemptions, and Exclusions, 1916–2014, supra note 23.
10 Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes, IRS (Oct. 29, 2024), https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businessesself-employed/frequently-asked-questions-on-gift-taxes. 11 IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2025, IRS (Oct. 22, 2024),
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-releases-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2025. 12 Id.
13 Historical Highlights of the IRS, IRS (Sept. 13, 2024), https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/historical-highlights-of-theirs. 14 U.S. Dep’t of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Serv., How Much Revenue Has the U.S. Government Collected
This Year?, Fiscal Data, https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/government-revenue (last visited
Apr. 21, 2025).
15 Drew Desilver, Who Pays, and Doesn’t Pay, Federal Income Taxes in the U.S.?, Pew Rsch. Ctr. (Apr. 18, 2023),
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/18/who-pays-and-doesnt-pay-federal-income-taxes-in-theus. 16 Constitutional Amendments — Amendment 16 — “Income Taxes,” Ronald Reagan Presidential Libr. & Museum,
https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/constitutional-amendments-amendment-16-income-taxes (last visited Apr. 21,
2025)
17 Historical Highlights of the IRS, supra note 29.
18 Mark Luscombe, Historical Income Tax Rates, Wolters Kluwer (Dec. 30, 2022),
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/whole-ball-of-tax-historical-income-tax-rates. 19 Historical Highlights of the IRS, supra note 29.
20 Margot L. Crandall-Hollick, The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC): Legislative History, Congress.gov (Apr. 28,
2022), https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R44825. 21 Julia Kagan, Tax Reform Act of 1986: Overview and History, Investopedia (Nov. 3, 2024),
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxreformact1986.asp. 22 Pub. L. 112–240, 126 Stat. 2313 (codified in scattered sections in 26 U.S.C.),
https://www.congress.gov/bill/112th-congress/house-bill/8. 23 David Floyd, What Is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)?, Investopedia (Jan. 31, 2025),
https://www.investopedia.com/taxes/trumps-tax-reform-plan-explained. 24 Ashlee Rich Stephenson, American Voters Will Support Lawmakers Who Back Permanent Tax Relief, U.S.
Chamber of Com. (Mar. 4, 2025), https://www.uschamber.com/taxes/american-voters-will-support-lawmakerswho-back-permanent-tax-relief. 25 Gabriella Sanchez, What Happens in a Lame-Duck Session of Congress?, Brennan Ctr. for Just. (Dec. 19, 2022),
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/what-happens-lame-duck-session-congress.
