Category Archives: Estate Tax
Portability: The Tax Election Every Surviving Spouse Must Consider
The Federal Estate Tax exemption for 2014 is $5.34 million. This means that if a decedent’s gross estate (plus past taxable gifts) is less than $5.34 million then filing a Federal Estate Tax Return (Form 706) is not required. However, a surviving spouse should always consider the option of electing to file a Federal… Read More »
2014 Estate Tax Summary
Happy New Year! I wrote a summary of the 2013 Estate Tax Essentials last year. 2013 saw some major changes to estate and gift taxes. The adjustments for 2014, however, are only minor automatic inflation adjustments. The federal estate, gift and GST tax exemption rose from $5.25 million to $5.34 million. Here is an… Read More »
IRS Clarifies New Same-Sex Marriage Tax Issues
As most of you are probably aware, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in June that struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Constitutional Due Process Challenge The case, United States vs. Windsor, was an estate tax case out of New York. Thea Spyer and Edith Windsor… Read More »
2013 Estate Tax Essentials
Estate taxes underwent some major changes at the beginning of 2013. Thankfully, we now have more clarity and permanence than we had over the past decade. We provided a 2013 Estate Tax Update to our clients on our website and by newsletter early in the year. But I think reminders and summaries can be… Read More »