Paralegal Advanced Competency Exam (PACE) Practice Exam 2025 - Free PACE Practice Questions and Study Guide

The primary purpose of a Crummey Trust is to allow annual exclusion on contributions made to the trust. This type of trust is specifically designed to enable contributors to make gifts to beneficiaries while taking advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion provided by the IRS. Under this arrangement, beneficiaries are given the right to withdraw contributions made to the trust for a limited time, which qualifies the gifts for the annual exclusion amount. As a result, contributions to a Crummey Trust can be excluded from the donor's taxable gifts up to the annual limit, making it a useful tool for estate planning.

This unique feature of allowing withdrawals helps satisfy the requirement that a gift be present-interest, meaning the recipient has immediate and unrestricted access to the gift. Consequently, the trust provides a way to maximize tax-efficient gifting while still maintaining the benefits of the trust structure for the eventual distribution of the assets.