MegaMillions mania is sweeping the nation. With the grand prize over $500 million, people are dreaming of what they would do with the money, and how they would share it with their families and friends. One one hand, the odds of winning – 1 in 175 million – are infinitesimal. But hey, someone has to win,… Read More
Israel Debates Enacting an Estate Tax
America isn’t the only place where the imposition of an estate tax is being debated. Israel is currently considering whether to impose one. The proposed exemption amount, that is the amount over which the tax would be imposed, is 15 million NIS (New Israeli Shekels) or a little less than $4 million at today’s exchange… Read More
Columnist in one of New York’s Poorest Counties Sees the Estate Tax as a “Major Issue”
Hi Y’all. I’m back. Sorry for the big break in posting. I’ll try to do better. In this election year, I haven’t heard that much talk about the estate tax – or as the Republicans like to call it, the “Death Tax.” As I’ve written about before, the estate tax is imposed upon your death… Read More
Update on the Lottery Winning Money Managers – Are They Hiding the Real Winner?
In my last post, I wrote about some very already rich bankers who won $254 Million in the Powerball Lottery. I expressed my confusion though, as to why three unrelated people were accepting their winnings in a single trust, instead of having the lottery split it for them. I hypothesized that the Putnam Family Trust was… Read More
IRS Releases Publication 950: Introduction to Estate and Gift Taxes
The Internal Revenue Service released Publication 950: Introduction to Estate and Gift Taxes, which is fairly self-descriptive. It explains the basic estate and gift tax system, and provides the numbers of the annual exclusion, and estate and gift tax exemption for 2012. The annual exclusion will remain at $13,000, but the lifetime exemption for estate… Read More
Listen to my interview on the Rocketlawyer Podcast
This past Friday I was interviewed on the Rocketlawyer podcast, in which I discussed estate planning, asset protection, probate, real estate, and the rules regarding Florida Homestead. The link to a summary of the episode is here. If you want to download the MP3 directly, click here or pick it up through iTunes here. The… Read More
The Defense of Marriage Act, the Marital Deduction, and the Estate Tax
Recently, the Department of Justice under President Obama has stated that they will no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in court. What many people may not know is that the current case that prompted that decision is about the estate tax. Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer were married in Canada… Read More
Update on the Estate Tax Legislation
There is none. Carry on.
Yankee Owner George Steinbrenner Dies — PIcks a Good Year to do it.
New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died today at the age of 80. According to Forbes Magazine, he was worth $1.1 billion. Total federal estate tax his family would have owed if he died last year or next year? Approximately $500 million. Total federal estate tax his family owes this year? Exactly zero. As I’ve… Read More
Wall Street Journal: Too Rich to Live?
The Weekend Wall Street Journal has a story about the (non) state of the estate tax, and whether people will be killing off their rich relatives at the end of the year. WSJ: Too Rich to Live?
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