All Estate Planning

How many years after a taxable gift may the IRS audit the gift? Taxpayers are often surprised to learn that when a gift tax return is not filed, or when a filed gift tax return does not “adequately disclose” a…

On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “2012 Tax Act”) was signed into law. While the 2012 Tax Act did not significantly affect many taxpayers, those individuals with incomes over $400,000 and married couples filing…

On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “2012 Tax Act”) was signed into law. Under the 2012 Tax Act, the top federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax rate is 40%, representing an increase…

On October 18, 2012, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the Washington state estate tax consequences of reporting “qualified terminable interest property” (QTIP) on the estate tax return of the second spouse to die.  In re Estate…

While a gift of closely-held business interests can be an effective wealth transfer technique, an IRS revaluation of the gifted interests can cause unintended gift tax consequences.  For example, if a donor makes a gift of $5 million of business…

The Congressional extension of the “Bush tax cuts” in late 2010 included for the first time a rarely-discussed provision that can result in significant estate tax savings.  Known as “portability,” the provision allows the Personal Representative of the estate of…

Charitable remainder unitrusts and annuity trusts (collectively, “CRTs”) are effectively barred from investing in for-profit enterprises holding “debt-financed” assets, under Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section 664(c). Under that provision, a CRT forfeits its exemption from federal income tax for any…

Just as things seemed to be quieting down after the Pension Protection Act of 2006, along came the latest challenge to the peace of the estate-planning world: tax patents. In early 2006, an infringement suit was filed over the first…