Today we learn from a supplemental opinion to Turner v. Commissioner, TC Memo 2011-209 Aug 30, 2011 (Estate of Turner I), that a marital deduction is not available when § 2036 is deemed to pull assets back into the estate, but the assets aren’t actually there to give to the surviving spouse. Estate of Turner I was… Read More
Some Guys Have All the Luck: Greenwich Wealth Managers Win $254 Million Powerball Lottery
I saw this story this morning that made me shake my head in wonder, and in a little bit of jealousy. Apparently, three money managers from Greenwich, Connecticut won $254 million in the Powerball lottery. If you don’t know, Greenwich is a New York City suburb and one of the richest in the country. Apparently,… Read More
Reflections on Nine Years Ago
Nine years ago, on September 11, 2001, I was working as a tax attorney with the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC. I was in the Office of Chief Counsel, Passthroughs and Special Industries — Branch 3. The Office of Chief Counsel serves as the in-house law firm to the IRS, and at the time, it… Read More
Welcome to South Florida, LeBron — Some Tips on How to Establish Domicile
The sports world is a-twitter (as is Twitter itself), about the news that LeBron James is coming to play for the Miami Heat. In the days leading up to the decision, there was much discussion about how much he would be paid in Miami vs. Cleveland. Because Florida does not have a state income tax… Read More
IRS Publishes 2010 Edition of Publication 559 — Survivors, Executors, and Administrators – For Preparing 2009 Returns
In recent weeks, one of the most frequent search terms that have brought people to my website has been some variation of “IRS Publication 559.” This is a guide from the IRS that tells Personal Representatives and Executors how to prepare the income tax returns of decedents whose estates they are administering. Obviously, people need… Read More
Taxgirl lets her readers take over
Taxgirl is running an interesting experiment in which she lets her readers post blog entries answering the question, “Hey Congress why don’t you. . .?” There are lots of thoughtful comments. Sometimes, we attorneys and CPAs get mired in the overly technical and complex details of the Internal Revenue Code, and fail to see the big… Read More
How Michael Jackson and his mother will avoid paying estate tax twice (and how you can too)
In my previous post, I wrote that contrary to media reports, that it was highly likely, if not impossible that the Michael Jackson Family Trust (which has not yet been released) distributed his assets to his mother and his children outright. (Various sites are reporting that the mother “gets” 40%, the three children receive 40%… Read More
Outrageous (and illegal) Behavior by IRS Agent
Before going into private practice, I was an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service Office of Chief Counsel, in Washington, DC. I worked in the Passthroughs and Special Industries division, and primarily drafted private letter rulings, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, and regulations. On my very first day there, I was told that my sole responsibility… Read More
IRS Publishes 2009 Edition of Publication 559, Surviors, Executors and Administrators (to be used with 2008 Returns)
The 2009 Edition of Pub 559, which advises Personal Representatives and Executors how to prepare the income tax returns of decedents whose estate they are administering, has been published by the IRS. It is to be used for the 2008 year. The full PDF of the publication can be downloaded from the IRS’s Website here…. Read More
IRS to Reduce Penalty for Offshore Account Holders (If They Fess Up)
For most people, taxes are relatively straightforward. Not easy, not pleasant. But straightforward. If you have a bank account that earns interest during the year, then at the beginning of the following year your bank sends you a Form 1099-INT reporting the interest that you earned, and sends a copy of that same form to… Read More
