Top Gun: Maverick - Core Estate Plan and Gifting Basics
Once Removed Episode 19: The Step-Transaction Doctrine and the Case of Smaldino
Once Removed Episode 17: Annual Gifting to Individuals: Options, Opportunities and Pitfalls
Taking the Sting Out of Death Taxes with Dylan Metzner, Jones & Keller
HEAVEN CAN WAIT
The recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) brings sweeping and permanent changes to the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax landscape. Most notably, it significantly increases the...more
In this second installment of our multi-part series on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the “Act”), my colleague David Knutson and I discuss the changes made by the Act to the federal estate and gift tax regime....more
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The OBBBA extended and may permanent many key provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the TCJA), including the Lifetime Estate,...more
The new tax cut and spending bill known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, increases federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax exemptions to $15 million...more
Federal Estate, GST and Gift Tax Rates The federal estate, gift and GST applicable exclusion amounts are as summarized below. In simple terms, these dollar figures represent the amount of wealth that each individual can...more
In 2018, as part of the “Trump tax cuts,” the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption was increased to $11,180,000, with annual increases for inflation. Today, the exemption stands at...more
As we start the new year, this Federal Tax Update highlights estate planning-related federal tax information that may be helpful as you consider planning options for 2024. ...more
The IRS has announced the official estate and gift exclusion amounts for 2024. For an estate of any decedent dying during calendar year 2024, the Federal applicable exemption will increase from $12.92 million to $13.61...more
The basic exclusion amount is the total amount that an individual may pass by gifts made during his or her lifetime or by devises and bequests at his or her death without liability for federal estate, gift or generation...more
As we start the new year, this Federal Tax Update highlights estate planning-related federal tax information that may be helpful as you consider planning options for 2022. Because Congress could pass legislation that changes...more
The updated version of the Build Back Better Act released by the House Budget Committee on November 3, 2021, does not include any of the significant gift tax, estate tax, generation-skipping transfer tax or grantor trust...more
Last month, the House Ways & Means Committee (the "Committee") approved draft legislation (the “Legislation”) as part of Congress' ongoing $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation process. The Legislation includes significant tax...more
It is said that two things are certain in life: death and taxes. True, but incomplete. What is missing from this short list is a third inevitable occurrence – tax law changes. We now have a new and pressing series of proposed...more
Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee released, and advanced out of committee, draft tax legislation intended to form a part of the Democratic budget reconciliation bill. At almost 900 pages in length, this draft...more
“President Biden and Democrats in the Congress have been working on a $3.5 trillion spending and tax package, and the details are starting to be revealed. Indeed, on Sunday, September 12th, the House Ways and Means Committee...more
On April 28, 2021, in an address to a Joint Session of Congress and a Fact Sheet published by the White House, President Biden introduced the “American Families Plan,” the President’s plan for spending and a series of tax...more
Let the taxpayer beware: the recently proposed “For the 99.5 Percent Act” introduced by Senators Bernie Sanders and Sheldon Whitehouse would radically limit the ability of parents or grandparents to make annual exclusion...more
In the United States Congress, there is an arduous journey before a bill becomes law. See the classic School House Rock! video, “I’m Just a Bill.” But there is a common theme running through some gift and estate tax bills...more
With Democrats gaining control of the White House, the House of Representatives, and, albeit somewhat tenuously, the Senate, there is a growing possibility of legislative changes to the federal estate tax laws to fulfill...more
Major tax reform discussions are ongoing in Washington and Sacramento while everyone at home is busy navigating the pandemic. Many commentators are predicting that budgetary pressures resulting from the COVID-19 stimulus...more
We hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy. We previously noted that the coronavirus "lock down" is causing many of our clients to re-think their existing estate plans. In the past, certain estate...more
While the safety of your family is of first priority, the current health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 raises issues and presents estate planning opportunities for your consideration....more
In 2019, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act) and its resulting tax reform continued to dominate the planning landscape. As outlined in our 2018 Year-End Estate Planning Advisory, the Act made significant changes to individual...more
On November 6, the IRS announced the official estate and gift exclusion amounts for 2020 in Revenue Procedure 2019-44. For an estate of any decedent dying during calendar year 2020, the applicable exclusion is increased from...more
I. INTRODUCTION - This outline is a selective and evolving review of the history of the modern federal estate tax. It originated during the attempts to repeal the estate tax in President Clinton’s second term and...more