Celebrity Estate Update - Bee Gee Robin Gibb Leaves Massive Fortune, Tangled Web to Unweave
Wednesday October 31, 2012
Last week The Sun reported that the estate of Bee Gee singer/songwriter Robin Gibb is a tangled mess worth £93million, or a whopping $149 million USD. Gibb, who died ... Read More
Who Will Pay for Your Long Term Care?
Tuesday October 30, 2012
From Deborah Caldwell for CNBC, The Crushing Expense Your Children Will Pay for You: "Call it the Gray Tsunami. In less than 40 years, the number of people in ... Read More
Celebrity Estate Update - Elizabeth Taylor Unseats Michael Jackson as the Top Earning Dead Celebrity for 2011 - 2012
Monday October 29, 2012
It's one of my favorite times of the year - no, not Halloween, but the time of the year when Forbes releases its list of the top earning dead celebrities ... Read More
Washington Estate Tax Decision Will Cost the State $50 Million
Wednesday October 24, 2012
Last week the Supreme Court of Washington ruled against the state's Department of Revenue which will cost the state an estimated $47.6 million in estate tax refunds and an estimated ... Read More
Federal Appeals Court Rules That Married Same Sex Couples Do Not Have to Pay Estate Taxes
Tuesday October 23, 2012
Back in November 2010 Edith Windsor filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking reimbursement of over $363,000 in estate taxes that she paid as the result of the death ... Read More
2013 Annual Exclusion from Gift Taxes Increases to $14,000
Monday October 22, 2012
Last week the IRS issued Rev. Proc. 2012-41, which, among other things, announced that the 2013 annual gift tax exclusion amount will increase for the first time since 2009 to ... Read More
Revocable Living Trusts, the Pick Up Tax & Marilyn Monroe Top Wills & Estate Planning Blogs in September 2012
Wednesday October 17, 2012
Revocable living trusts, the pick up tax, a "living estate tax" and Marilyn Monroe's estate topped the most read blogs posted in September 2012:
Top 5 Blogs Posted in September 2012
Revocable ... Read More
Revisiting the World Famous Estate Tax Straw Poll
Tuesday October 16, 2012
Back in January 2011, I posed the following question in an estate tax straw poll: What do you think Congress will do with estate taxes for 2013 and beyond? ... Read More
Celebrity Estate Update - Accounting Filed for Heiress Huguette Clark's Estate Reveals Hundreds of Millions At Stake in Will Contest
Monday October 15, 2012
Last week an interim accounting was filed for the estate of reclusive copper heiress Huguette Clark, who died on May 24, 2011, at the age of 104. The accounting ... Read More
What is Traditional Estate Planning, and Why Doesn't It Work Anymore?
Wednesday October 10, 2012
In 1995 when I started out in the legal practice of estate planning, the traditional approach to planning was mainly to address two grave concerns - avoiding probate and minimizing ... Read More
Celebrity Estate Update - Co-Trustees Request Judicial Modification of Whitney Houston's Testamentary Trust
Tuesday October 9, 2012
The Co-Trustees of the testamentary trust that was established for the benefit of Whitney Houston's only child after the singer's untimely death have filed a petition that requests the Superior ... Read More
National Estate Planning Awareness Week Begins on October 15
Monday October 8, 2012
In 2008 the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (or NAEPC for short), in conjunction with Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA) and 49 of his colleagues, co-sponsored and helped pass ... Read More
Hot Off the Press! - Advising the Elderly Client
Wednesday October 3, 2012
I am excited to announce the publication of the 2012 update of Advising the Elderly Client by Thomson Reuters/West, of which I have become a co-author. Here is a ... Read More
Celebrity Estate Update - Artist Thomas Kinkade's Girlfriend Ordered to Pay Rent
Tuesday October 2, 2012
Things are heating up in the will contest surrounding artist Thomas Kinkade's estate. When the famed "Painter of Light" died back in April due to an accidental overdose of ... Read More
Estate Tax and Other Tax Decisions Left Up to the Lame Ducks, Uncertainty Will Linger For Years to Come
Monday October 1, 2012
The Hill has reported that the House Ways and Means Committee, which is in charge of writing tax legislation and bills affecting Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlement programs, "remained ... Read More