Estate Tax Update

As you know, Congress has been considering tax reform over the last several months. Until recently, it was unclear whether any of the wide-ranging proposals would gain enough traction to become law. Last week, however, the House Ways and Means Committee released a much-publicized tax bill (the "Bill") that, if enacted, would drastically alter current Federal estate and gift tax laws and eliminate the use of certain common estate planning strategies. Background. While the Bill is just a propos ...
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The Senate and House voted over New Year’s to pass the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (H.R. 8) ending (at least for now) the uncertainty of the future of the federal estate and gift tax law. The Act permanently extends a number of tax provisions, modifies the estate tax, and revises tax rates on ordinary and capital gain income, among other things. The Act permanently maintains the estate and gift tax exclusion at $5 million (indexed for inflation), but also permanently increases the ...
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The federal estate and gift tax system continues to be fraught with uncertainty. The scheduled changes in the tax law to take effect on January 1, 2013 make this an appropriate time to review your estate plan. To learn more, read our Unprecedented Estate Tax Uncertainty Letter (PDF). If you would like to receive additional estate planning information and announcements, please email estateplanning@crlaw.com, as we will be providing further updates by email. ...
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