Yes, the federal estate tax system is back in the news and the news is not good. Are you following these latest developments?
President Obama has proposed a total overhaul of the federal transfer tax system which was just overhauled as recently as January 1, 2013. Did you know that the U.S. estate tax system has been overhauled over 13 times since 1987? Seems like the politicians cannot keep their hands off of your estate.
The latest proposal would impose new taxes on every estate upon death instead of just on people with large estates. I will cover these proposed changes in detail in an upcoming article, so the purpose of this article on estate planning and estate taxes is to gauge your opinion.
What do you think? Should every American have to pay these taxes or only wealthy people? What is the definition of wealth to you? Should you be allowed to pass your estate to your spouse? How about to your kids?
As an estate planning attorney, these proposals have the impact of destroying thousands of existing estate plans and could destroy many more families who rely on the ability to pass property to their family. Your opinion matters and we encourage you to make it known to your representatives and senators.
Let me know your thoughts on this by emailing me or commenting below. As always, thank you for your interest.
Bernie Greenberg
