As many of you know, the new Democratic Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, was engaged in a recent budget showdown with members of his own party. A last minute government shutdown was avoided, however, as the legislature and the Governor came to terms on a variety of tax increases and spending priorities. For more […]
While the House and Senate are considering competing tax proposals, including a proposal to eliminate the federal estate tax, it is worth noting that the IRS has released Revenue Procedure 2017-58 which provides inflationary updates for a number of provisions in the Internal Revenue Code, including Estate Tax Exemption Limits. Assuming that the Republicans do not […]
As most of you know, I generally try to avoid political discussions and I really try to avoid commenting on proposed tax policy before it becomes law for the simple reason that most proposed law changes never get enacted. However, I feel compelled to talk about what I believe is a major flaw in the […]
As many of you know, New Jersey recently revised its estate tax law. Effective January 1, 2017, people who die in the year 2017 will have a New Jersey estate tax exemption of $2,000,000. Since the law was enacted towards the end of 2016, the division of tax needs some time to prepare a […]
It is no secret that most Republicans and Donald Trump wish to get rid of the federal estate tax (or as it is commonly referred to “The Death Tax”). With Republicans in charge of the House, Senate and Presidency, I think we are very likely to see a full repeal. Many will counter that George […]
According to various news reports, it appears that New Jersey will officially be eliminating the estate tax. The deal to eliminate the estate tax is part of a larger deal that increases the gas tax, reduces the sales tax slightly, gives the working poor a larger tax credit, gives a tax cut on retirement income […]
I tend not to get too excited about any legislation until it is actually signed, but there is a fair amount of rumbling from both Republicans and Democrats about repealing the NJ Estate Tax. The NJ Transportation Trust fund is running out of money, and Governor Christie has refused to sign any deal to increase […]
Sometimes probate can be a simple process. Sometimes it can be a royal nightmare… and sometimes it can be an expensive royal nightmare. I’m not sure if it is a sign of the times or just a coincidence, but our office has had numerous estates where the probate has not been very easy. To give […]
Many estate planning commentators have joked that estate tax portability will lead to rich individuals marrying others simply to make use of their estate tax exemption. — I have found, in practice, that planning can be far more complicated. Let me take you through a common situation that I am dealing with: I represent a […]