If an IRS examiner is unreasonable or just plain wrong, there is an efficient avenue for obtaining an independent review (albeit by the IRS) of the examiner’s proposed adjustments. This is known as taking the case to the IRS Appeals Office, which will usually reduce the bill to the taxpayer. Here’s how it works. Continue reading
On January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which retains most of the estate and gift tax laws in effect in 2012.
The New Laws
Highlights of the Act include:
● The estate tax, gift tax and generation skipping tax exemptions of $5M have been retained. (Actually, the exemption is now $5.25M per spouse by reason of inflationary adjustments.) Continue reading
In general, “SLAT” refers to a trust created during a spouse’s lifetime for the benefit of the other spouse. (For simplicity, I will assume the husband is the party creating the SLAT, and the wife is the beneficiary.) The SLAT usually continues for the rest of the wife’s life. Only the husband’s assets are used to fund the trust, and the wife is given no powers (such as a general power of appointment) that would cause the SLAT assets to be included in her estate at her death. No marital deduction is claimed.
Advantages of a SLAT:
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If you are a married and need a simple will that minimizes or eliminates estate taxes, consider using a “disclaimer will.” It provides “wait and see” flexibility on whether to use tax planning trusts when the first spouse dies. Continue reading
You can leave the US, but it will cost you……
In a prior post I described the US exit tax on US persons who renounce their citizenship or green card status and move overseas. Two recent examples are Eduardo Saverin (co-founder of Facebook) and Denise Rich (songwriter and husband of a billionaire commodities trader). A recent CNN article describes the exit tax on Ms. Rich.
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