Wealthy couples often face an estate tax: Here’s their favorite legal maneuver to get around it

High net worth couples have no shortage of tools and strategies at their disposal to lower their tax obligations and pass on their wealth. But financial planners say one especially favorable arrangement has become a go-to in recent years—one that helps them pass on generational wealth while still benefitting from it during their lifetimes. They are called spousal lifetime access trusts, or SLATs.

SLATs are irrevocable trusts that let the spouses maintain access to their assets while keeping them out of their taxable estate.