Writing for Trusts & Estates, attorney David Thayne Leibell of Wiggin and Dana LLP discusses two recent court cases that might shut down the Internal Revenue Service's attack on "charitable lids" and suggests that wealthy families’ facing an estate tax in 2010 should place them at the top of their to-do lists.  MORE »

In response to year-end Congressional inaction and using the game of Monopoly as an analogy, attorney Conrad Teitell has written Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley to convey his opinion regarding the unfairness of a retroactive reinstatement of the estate tax, the possible consequences of such action, his recommendation that any new estate tax be applied prospectively and that new carryover basis rules be repealed retroactively, and for Congress to announce its intent and effective date for estate tax reform.  MORE »

In a December 17 letter to Senators, Americans for a Fair Estate Tax has urged legislators to extend the Federal Estate Tax citing a loss in vital tax revenue and incentive for charitable giving.  MORE »

According to an article in the December 15 issue of The Chronicle on Philanthropy, "Several wealthy people today added their voices to a campaign to get Congress to extend and strengthen the estate tax, calling it a key incentive for people to leave money to charity."  MORE »

Writing for Leimberg Information Services, Ron Aucutt, group leader of the trusts and estates practice group of McGuireWoods LLP shares the very latest news out of Washington on estate tax reform and indicates momentum for action is picking up.  MORE »

Legislation enacted in 2001 calls for the repeal of the federal estate tax in 2010, and its full reintroduction in 2011. That law has since generated considerable interest in how changes in the estate tax and its ultimate repeal may affect charitable bequests and the fortunes of philanthropies. In this article, David Joulfaian, from the Department of the Treasury's Office of Tax Analysis, offers his personal analysis and opinion on this issue.

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"Death taxes" present a changing landscape for donors and charities, and that's putting it mildly. Will federal estate taxes be repealed permanently? Will state death taxes, capital gains taxes and "IRD" taxes rise up to take their place as concerns for donors? Will charitable bequests continue to save taxes for the estates of wealthy donors? This program will present state and federal transfer tax laws as they exist today and explore what the future may hold.  MORE »

Will federal estate taxes be repealed permanently? Will state death taxes, capital gains taxes and IRD taxes take their place as concerns for donors? This session will review the basics of state and federal transfer taxes as they exist today and what the future may hold for donors and gift planners. (Syllabus Codes 5.02)  MORE »

Complete repeal of the federal estate tax is scheduled to take effect for a one year window during 2010. But what if the estate tax is repealed permanently? What effect would that have on testamentary charitable gifts from those who are no longer subject to the tax? Some planners suggest that with more to give, people might give more. Others argue that in the absence of a tax incentive, people will give less. In this article, Chapman University law professor Frank J. Doti examines the historical data to suggest an answer.  MORE »

In part one of this article, Michael Pusey, CPA speculated that estate tax repeal could have the inadvertent affect of disqualifying testamentary CRTs and additions to them. In part two, he roles up his sleeves to discuss in detail the technical issues and current IRS positions that will need to be addressed to resolve this problem.  MORE »