Disclaimer is the renunciation to accept a bequest, gift, insurance proceeds, and retirement benefits under a beneficiary designation in order to allow a property to be made available to other takers. To be take advantage of a disclaimer and therefore not treated as a gift by the disclaimant, the disclaimer has to be lodged within nine months and before the acceptance of an interest in a property. Due to the high rates of gift and estate tax, it might be possible to disclaim even after the time period to aid a lower tax payment. State laws may differ, and specific wills and trusts might include an exclusion governing what has to happen to interests and assets that are disclaimed.

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