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The failure of Congress to deal with the repeal of the federal estate tax before 2010 and the impact of new estate taxes and generation-skipping taxes beginning January 1, 2011, has created great uncertainty and confusion for wealthy Americans and their tax advisers. A 51 page article entitled “Estate Planning In Uncertain Times: [...] Bloomberg: “Lobbyists for small businesses, construction companies, manufacturers and other trade groups are racing the clock to convince Congress to reinstate the federal estate tax they’ve fought for years to abolish. The National Federation of Independent Business and more than 40 business organizations wrote Senate and House leaders last week asking for quick [...] New York Times: “The estate tax isn’t dead. It’s resting. The tax has been eliminated for 2010, but the estates of people who die before the year is out may still not pass free and clear to their heirs. The complexities of the tax system and the likely return of the estate tax [...] Wall St. Journal: “Congress shocked everyone by letting the estate tax lapse on Jan. 1. Now, here is the real stunner: For many, the lapse actually will raise taxes.” The Hill: “Senate leaders are working on an estate tax deal to make it easier to move a bipartisan jobs bill. The deal discussed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) involves moving an estate tax bill through the Senate that would prevent a huge hike [...] A video from The Heritage Foundation called “The Death Tax Burden on American Business.” See also “Death Tax: Time to Kill It Forever.” I benefit from the death tax because I am an estate planning attorney who charges $3,500 to prepare an estate plan with a trust that will maximize federal estate tax [...] Forbes: “While the federal estate tax has temporarily lapsed for 2010, 19 states still take a bite out of their residents’ estates. Although Congress has let the federal estate tax lapse for 2010, your estate might still be subject to a state levy at your death. The feds are trying to work out [...] Investment News: “With the federal estate tax law having lapsed — and no sign that Congress is planning to address the issue anytime soon — a growing number of states are taking matters into their own hands. Lawmakers and estate attorneys in the District of Columbia and at least 13 states, including Florida, [...] msSAnews.com: “A jury here decided Friday that Wells Fargo Bank and the Baker Botts law firm breached their fiduciary duties to Kathleen Cailloux in estate-related work in 1997, and set her damages at $65.5 million. . . . The dispute centered on an estate plan crafted in the wake of the January 1997 [...] Steven Colbert has advice for people concerned about the federal estate tax. The Colbert Report Colbert Platinum – Estate Tax & Skull Ballot Box www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes New York Times: “DEATH and taxes, the adage goes, are the only certainties in life. But when it comes to the combination of the two, the estate tax, there is only uncertainty for 2010. Most tax advisers thought that Congress would extend the estate tax before it was due to expire at the [...] Oregonlive.com: “Plenty of gallows humor got bandied around when it became clear late last month that, amazingly, Congress was going to let the nation’s estate tax lapse. Whether any enfeebled people really were kept alive until 2010 to save their fortunes from taxation . . . . But the resulting vacuum has [...] New York Times: “Death and taxes, the adage goes, are the only certainties in life. But when it comes to the combination of the two, the estate tax, there is only uncertainty for 2010. Most tax advisers thought that Congress would extend the estate tax before it was due to expire at the end of [...] New York Post: “If Fritz Lohman had only known, he would have waited another 13 hours to kick the bucket. Lohman, 87, a SoHo real-estate magnate who pioneered the exhibition of gay art, died at home at about 11 a.m. on New Year’s Eve after a long illness. If he had instead passed [...] CBSMoneyWatch.com: “At first glance, the failure of Congress to plug the 2010 estate tax loophole appears to be good news for children of ailing rich parents — and of little consequence to everyone else. But in fact, by letting the tax lapse, Congress has created a bunch of unintended consequences and increased the [...] Boston Globe: “NOT ALL deaths are sad. The federal estate tax died at 12:01 A.M. on January 1, an occasion of joy if there ever was one. Allowing it to expire was one of the few sensible things Congress accomplished in 2009. Keeping it dead should be a congressional goal for 2010. Estate-tax repeal was [...] Wall St. Journal: “Spouses of those wealthy who die next year might find themselves with nothing if the wills aren’t revised — another wrinkle of the impending repeal of the federal estate tax Friday. Starting Jan. 1, estate taxes will be repealed for 2010 only. That means unless Congress acts otherwise, there is [...] Wall S. Journal: “Nothing’s certain except death and taxes — but a temporary lapse in the estate tax is causing a few wealthy Americans to try to bend those rules. Starting Jan. 1, the estate tax — which can erase nearly half of a wealthy person’s estate — goes away for a year. For [...] New York Times: “A Congressional tax standoff has opened a window of opportunity for wealthy Americans determined to avoid paying up post-mortem. With lawmakers unable to agree on a year-end fix for a quirk in the Bush-era tax cuts, the federal estate tax is set to be repealed for one year as of Jan. 1, [...] Forbes: “Lawyers see litigation and administrative nightmares resulting from political impasse. Barring a last-minute political deal, the federal estate tax is set to disappear as of Jan. 1, 2010–for just one year. Democratic leaders of Congress are vowing to resurrect the tax retroactively sometime next year, but the impending lapse has estate planners [...] pal-item.com: “The biggest impediment to passing on the family farm is a federal tax on a person’s estate following his or her death. . . . Schwarz, who is a farmer and attorney in Indiana, said proper estate planning can save money, including the amount of federal estate taxes that are owed, and enable farming [...] Wall St. Journal: “In less than three weeks, the hated death tax is scheduled to expire—with the rate falling from 45% to zero for 2010. Then the tax will be resurrected in 2011 at a rate of 55%. This bizarre policy dates back to 2001 when Democrats wouldn’t let President Bush permanently kill [...] Bloomberg.com: “Individuals who want to transfer wealth to their children may have a limited opportunity to put some assets in trusts that let them give the money tax-free. Grantor-retained annuity trusts, known as GRATs, or irrevocable, intentionally defective grantor trusts allow the appreciation of certain assets to pass to heirs free of [...] Nasdaq: “House Democrats are retreating from a plan to move permanent estate tax legislation by the end of the year, spooked by high unemployment and budget deficits. Members of the House Ways and Means Committee said that instead they hope to move legislation that extends current estate tax levels for one year. They could then revisit a permanent fix [...] Nasdaq: “A bipartisan group of senators who favor lowering estate taxes are studying a proposal to gradually reduce the tax until it reaches 35% in 2019. The senators, led by Sens. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.), and Blanche Lincoln (D., Ark.) , have long sought to cut the tax from its current level of 45%, and [...] Trusts & Estates: “Don’t bet on any. Congress just might do nothing and send us back to the 2001 scenario—permanently. . . . The landscape in which all wealth advisors manage trusts and create estate plans is about to be altered dramatically. But those changes may not be the ones everybody is expecting. [...] Attorneys Jonathan G. Blattmachr and Alvina H. Lo wrote an article on the date on which an estate must value the assets of the estate for the purpose of determining the federal tax on the estate. “The alternate valuation rules in Section 2032 can alleviate the hardship that a decedent’s estate may [...] Professor Bridget J. Crawford of the Pace University School of Law and Professor Mitchell Gans of Hofstra University School of Law article focuses on the federal estate and gift tax treatment of copyright termination rights. The right of a creative individual to terminate prior copyright transfers serves to protect against economic [...] USA Today: “Heard about the act of Congress that provides a huge financial incentive for rich old people to die next year, or for their heirs to pull the plug on them? The one known in policy circles as the ‘Throw Momma from the Train’ law‘? No, this has nothing to do [...] On September 11, 2009, I attended an all day seminar on estate planning put on by the Arizona Wealthcounsel users group of which I am a member. Each member of the group was asked for an opinion (guess) about when and what Congress will do to the estate tax exemption amount. The guesses varied widely. I [...] |
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