Blog

Forbes 400 Members Avoided State Death Taxes On $81 Billion In Wealth By Moving

By

  A whopping $80.7 billion of 2001 Forbes 400 wealth escaped state estate taxes because billionaires moved to states without estate taxes through 2017, according to estimates from a new National Bureau of Economics research paper. Billionaires avoiding taxes, that’s a given. But the surprise finding is this: The revenues states can bring in from death taxes outweigh lost income taxes from the rich who flee. That’s significant because the case for taxing billionaire’s estates at death could be used … Continued

$30 Million Estate Tax Case Going To Be ‘Hard,’ Judge Says

By

  A judge said he remains unsure how to rule following a four-day trial in which the IRS accused a taxpayer of using life insurance policies to avoid estate taxes. “I look forward to your briefs because for me this is going to be a hard case,” said U.S. Tax Court Senior Judge Joseph Goeke on Oct. 11, at the end of the trial. The issues remaining 5.5 years into the case are whether six life insurance policies at their … Continued

Fines-and-fees system that helps fund court budget is unconstitutional, 5th Circuit rules

By

  A federal appeals panel has ruled that a system of criminal fines and fees in the New Orleans criminal court was unconstitutional because the money is used to support a general fund overseen by the court’s judges. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 23 on behalf of six criminal defendants who were jailed because they were unable to pay fines and fees. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law noted the decision in … Continued

Estate planning for the other 99%

By

  Estate planning has always included much more than simply strategizing about how to minimize estate taxes. Estate planning is needed to address a multitude of other nontax matters,including: Custody of minor children upon the death of their parents, as well as custody of their assets; Charitable goals and objectives; How assets will be administered for the benefit of a surviving spouse; Determination of which heirs will receive estate assets after the second death; Structuring of asset distributions to these … Continued

Current Estate And Gift Tax Proposals In Congress – Family and Matrimonial – United States

By

  Current TCJA Gift and Estate Tax Laws Under the TCJA law, effective January 1, 2018, each person is granted an exemption of $11.18 million from payment of U.S. gift tax and, to the extent not applied toward gift tax, U.S. estate tax. This exemption effectively shelters the taxpayer up to an aggregate amount of $11.18 million in 2018, twice the amount that was applicable in the year before. For each year after 2018, this exemption amount will be indexed … Continued