If your net worth is $15 million and you're single, you can pass it on without paying any federal estate taxes.
That said, many strategies to avoid or minimize estate taxes involve giving up some control over your assets during your lifetime and/or accepting frictional costs, like reduced investment flexibility. At 77, I'm increasingly drawn to simpler approaches as I age—if I haven't found a better one by then, I'll likely explore those options. Simplicity has real appeal.
(On a side note, I caught myself again: Moving to Monaco isn't simple, and taxes aren't my primary motivation anyway. Though tax optimization remains a personal hobby of mine.)
On income taxes: As a U.S. citizen, you're taxed on worldwide income regardless of where you live.
One significant potential saving would be leaving California, which would eliminate the state's top marginal income tax rate currently 13.3%. California treats capital gains as ordinary income with no preferential long-term rate like the federal system offers.
For federal income taxes, living in Monaco could allow a meaningful amount of current income not being taxed but that is quite specific to my unique situation.
For now, these are all options I'm carefully weighing. Choosing between the sunshine in Monaco and the sunshine in Newport Beach is a tough call—but as they say, someone has to do it.
Thanks again to Jim, who shared wisdom helped supercharge my returns over the years.