I am considering gifting almost all of my equitable share in a family mineral trust, for which a bank is the trustee, to my daughters. The trust is a unique one that was jointly drafted by me and a (now deceased) estate attorney in Midland TX. It encompasses hundreds of mineral properties in Texas and lasts for the maximum period allowed by the Rule Against Perpetuities. None of the beneficiaries of the trust can withdraw from the trust or otherwise obtain legal title to the undivided share of the interests that he or she put into the trust without the affirmative vote of the holders of a least a majority in interest of the total Equitable Shares, which is very unlikely to ever happen. We can only transfer while alive or at death our equitable share in the trust. It thus seems to me that my equitable share in the trust is like the share of a member of an LLC or FLP or the owner of stock in a corporation, but much more restricted. I will never be able to own or control any of the mineral properties that are owned and managed by the trust. I am only entitled to an Equitable Share of the income received by the trust and can only transfer that Equitable Share to someone else. I am hoping that I can simply value my share for gift and estate tax purposes (which I need to worry about since I live in Illinois) as a multiple of, e.g., 3 to 5 times [which?] of the annual income distributed to me over the last 12 months or 24 months, rather than having to obtain a difficult and very expensive valuation of each of the hundreds of mineral properties managed by the trust. The trustee bank uses a multiple of 5 times income for the last 12 months to obtain its stated market value for the trust properties, individually and in the aggrgate, on each monthly statement. Could I use its valuation?
Since you may have tax implications, you really need to direct this question to your accountant as there may be multiple state and federal taxes involved, the minority interest may have a positive effect on the taxes, etc. This needs a professional answer and not one from the forum who do not have the fiduciary responsibility to you.
Let me rephrase my question. Is anyone aware of a simple income based valuation being done in situations like mine, rather than having to engage in an engineering valuation of each property managed by the trust?
Yes I am aware of that. Id get advice from a tax professional tho.
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