Internet Tax Lawyers

In the area of estate tax law, the only thing that is certain right now is that things are going to change. The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act, passed in 2001, came with a “sunset clause,” giving Congress until Dec. 31, 2010 to extend the law or else it would disappear and the [...]

Connecticut residents will no longer have to flee to Florida to avoid the Connecticut estate tax because of a new law enacted Sept. 8 (House Bill 6802).
Beginning with deaths occurring on or after Jan. 1, 2010, estates (and gifts) of as much as $3.5 million will be exempt from Connecticut estate (and gift) tax. That [...]

With Congress facing a deadline to act on the estate or inheritance tax, which taxes property as it passes from one generation to the next, farmers, ranchers and others who participated in an online discussion of the issue last week stressed the need to support the Family Farm Preservation Estate Tax Act.
H.R. 3524, introduced by [...]

Job creation will probably have to wait until next year but the House is determined to extend the estate tax break permanently before leaving for the holidays, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday.
House Democrats also want to see an extension on unemployment insurance signed into law by Christmas, Hoyer said during his weekly [...]

NCBA leaders are disappointed the U.S. House ignored repeated calls for estate tax reform by passing a bill that permanently extends the tax at 2009 levels. According to NCBA President Gary Voogt, a cattleman from Michigan , by keeping the current flawed law in place, representatives have done America ’s family farmers, ranchers and small [...]

The expiration of the estate tax at the beginning of the year, and the threat of it returning with a vengeance in 2011 at a 55 percent rate for estates over $1 million, is giving estate planners fits.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., had attempted to get at least a temporary extension in place [...]

The Associated Press reports that former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner picked a good time to die:
Born on the Fourth of July, George Steinbrenner left the world stage with a great sense of timing too.
By dying in 2010, the billionaire and long-time New York Yankees owner’s wealth avoids the federal estate tax, likely saving his heirs [...]

While Congress dilly dallies, the states are racing to come to the aid of families whose estate plans have been thrown into disarray by the Jan. 1 lapse of the federal estate tax. That lapse could, among other things, lead to the unintended disinheritance of spouses, which could in turn lead to expensive legal fights [...]

In 2001, the Federal Government passed the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act.
It provided for the gradual increase of your federal estate tax exemption amount from $675,000 in 2001 to $3.5 million in 2009, and a decrease of the tax rate for remaining assets above the exemption amount subject to federal estate tax from [...]

State estate taxes, like federal estate taxes, are constantly changing.  The federal estate tax expired on January 1, 2010.  Since the federal tax expiration, its restoration has been uncertain and federal lawmakers have been putting off action in some cases.  Some of the states fluctuation instability stems from the federal mess.  In the interim, 19 [...]

Houston billionaire Dan L. Duncan became the unwitting poster child for the 2010 estate tax lapse when he died in March, allowing his $9 billion fortune to pass to his children and grandchildren tax-free. Had he died three months earlier, his estate would have been poorer by 45 percent – in other words, that’s $4 [...]

The Section 7520 rate, a minimum interest rate that the IRS makes you use, is at 2.8% for July.  This rate is published on a monthly basis.  An example of when this rate is used is when you create a note.  Recently, I prepared a short term note, less than three years, using an interest [...]

Failure to keep beneficiary designations up-to-date can be a very costly mistake. Most people have some life insurance, retirement accounts, IRAs, and other contracts that designate a recipient or beneficiary. When the primary beneficiary becomes disabled, enters a nursing home, or dies, the owner of these contracts frequently fails to update the beneficiary designation. This can cause problems with probate, estate taxes, especially state estate taxes, and inheritances.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com

On April 22nd, the Senate Budget Committee approved and sent to the Senate its Budget Resolution for Fiscal Year 2011 that begins on October 1, 2010. There are many provisions that deserve notice, but one issue that has plagued estate planners and taxpayers alike has been the issue of the estate tax.

Paul A. Nidich
http://paulnidich.webs.com

Your Cincinnati Tax Attorney