The Client Challenge

A multi-generational family holding $28M in mixed assets (real estate, private equity, and liquid portfolios) faced significant exposure to the federal estate tax exemption sunsets. Their assets were held across fragmented individual trusts with no unified oversight, exposing the heirs to a potential 40% estate tax hit upon transfer.

The Citadel Strategy

Citadel Partners onboarded the family into the Private Client Group, serving as their single, unified financial engine to restructure their entire estate roadmap:

• Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs): Transferred high-growth real estate assets into IDGTs via installment notes, removing all future appreciation from the taxable estate while maintaining income streams.
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs): Placed volatile private equity shares into zeroed-out GRATs, allowing rapid asset appreciation to pass to the next generation completely tax-free.
• Family Entity Consolidation: Consolidated disparate holdings into a master Family Limited Partnership (FLP), establishing valuation discounts for lack of marketability and control.

The Measurable Impact

• $8.4M Projected Estate Tax Exposure Eliminated across a multi-decade transition timeline.
• 32% Valuation Discount achieved across gifted FLP non-voting interests.
• Complete Family Alignment: Unified personal, entity, and trust reporting under one seamless operational hub.