This Month's Harvest:

How Advisors Can Position Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) to Married Couples

A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) can be positioned to married couples to “use” today’s elevated estate and gift tax exemption while keeping an income and emergency access lifeline through the beneficiary spouse. Advisors can frame SLATs as a high‑net‑worth planning strategy that balances tax efficiency with marital flexibility and control. Start with the core story: “Why a SLAT?”

• A SLAT lets one spouse gift assets out of the taxable estate, using their lifetime exclusion, while those assets remain available to the beneficiary spouse under the trust’s distribution standards. This feels less like a permanent “good‑bye” to wealth and more like moving it into a protected side‑bucket for the family.
• Present it as “use it before you lose it”: with the scheduled reduction of the exemption, SLATs can lock in today’s larger exclusion and remove future appreciation from both estates.
• Emphasize that the trust is typically designed so the beneficiary spouse’s standard of living is not compromised, which reduces emotional resistance to irrevocably parting with assets.

Determine the Right Fit: “Who is the right couple for a SLAT?”

• Best suited for couples who are happily married, have significant net worth, and can afford to irrevocably transfer appreciating assets without jeopardizing lifestyle. These couples often have concentrated positions or closely held business interests expected to grow.
• Couples should have sufficient non‑SLAT liquidity and income so they do not need regular, aggressive distributions from the trust, which could invite scrutiny under Internal Revenue Code Section 2036.
• Advisors can position SLATs as a fit for couples with strong marital stability but also a desire for creditor protection, multi‑generational planning, and retaining indirect access if circumstances change.

Best Way to “Position the benefits of a SLAT.”

• Tax efficiency: Gifts to a SLAT use the donor‑spouse’s lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion and push future growth outside both estates, leveraging the exemption.
• Access with protection: Because the spouse is a beneficiary, the couple maintains a back‑door line of access to trust assets through distributions to the beneficiary spouse, subject to the trust’s terms.
• Legacy and control: The trust can be drafted for long‑term, dynasty‑style planning in favorable jurisdictions, with creditor protection and detailed control over remainder beneficiaries.

How Best to Optimize Exemptions for Couples: “Positioning with two SLATs”

• For wealthier couples, advisors can discuss the possibility of each spouse creating a SLAT for the other to fully utilize both exemptions, but only if they understand the complexity.
• When positioning “dual SLATs,” stress the need to avoid the reciprocal trust doctrine by making the trusts meaningfully different in timing, assets contributed, dispositive provisions, and powers granted.

Conclusion: “Framing the risks”

• Be candid that SLATs are irrevocable; once assets are transferred, the donor cannot simply take them back, and access is only indirect through the beneficiary spouse or via carefully structured loans.
• Explain relational and life‑event risks: death of the beneficiary spouse severs the donor’s indirect access, and divorce can also cut off access, which is why definitions of “spouse” and potential “floating spouse” provisions matter.
• Highlight process: these trusts must be drafted by experienced estate planning counsel, and in some cases each spouse may need separate legal advice due to potential conflicts of interest.

Advisor communication tips with couples

• Engage both spouses fully in the discussion, ensuring each one understands the purpose, benefits, and trade‑offs of the SLAT and has the opportunity to express concerns and goals.
• Use visual flow charts and simple language to show how assets move into the trust, who can receive distributions, and what happens on death, divorce, or major life changes.

This framing lets advisors present SLATs not just as a technical trust structure, but as a strategic, couple‑centric tool that protects lifestyle today while optimizing estate and legacy outcomes for tomorrow. Discover how Wealth Advisors Trust Company can be an added solution partner for these types of conversations and much more by visiting our website, www.wealthadvisorstrust.com

For guidance on structuring a trust to meet your specific philanthropic and financial goals, you can consult with one of our Fiduciary Strategist team by visiting www.wealthadvisorstrust.com

January 2026

harvest@wealthadvisorstrust.com / www.wealthadvisorstrust.com

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