⁍ Wealthy Americans are scrambling to change their estate plans before year-end, worried that Democrat Joe Biden will win the U.S. presidential election and raise taxes.

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⁍ Biggest concern is that the White House and Congress could get swept up in a ‘Blue Wave’ of Democratic wins.

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⁍ Wealthy people are especially nervous that an exemption allowing individuals to leave up to $11.58 million to heirs, free of estate or gift taxes, could be cut before it expires in 2025.

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– If Joe Biden is elected president, financial advisers say, many of the nation’s richest people will be in for a rude awakening. Reuters reports that financial advisers say wealthy Americans are rushing to set up trusts and revise existing ones in order to avoid 2021 tax consequences if Democrats take over the White House and Congress. The fear is that Biden—who wants to raise estate taxes to the ” norm” and raise taxes on long-term capital gains—will be able to propose and pass a tax reform bill. “The $11.58 million question is, ‘What is going to happen to the gift and estate tax exclusion?'” says Toni Ann Kruse, an estates lawyer who counsels ultra-high net worth people. “We don’t know who will win the election or control the House or Senate—and all of those factors will play into what could happen.” Biden’s estate tax plan also includes raising taxes on long-term capital gains, which is the profit earned by selling assets whose values have appreciated. Taxpayers with income above $1 million would pay a 39.6% income tax on the profit, instead of the current tiered approach that maxes out at 20% for individuals with $441,450 or more income. In a statement, Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates reiterated the candidate’s intent to change tax law in ways that benefit less affluent people. “Joe Biden is running to rebuild the backbone of this nation—the American middle class—by ensuring that our economy rewards work and not just wealth,” he said.