Estate Tax

Estate Tax Certainty…For Now

January 16, 2013

For more than a decade, the estate tax was in a state of flux. Estate Tax Uncertainty In 2001, estate taxes of up to 60 percent were due on estates valued at over $675,000. The tax cuts passed under President George W. Bush gradually increased the exemption and decreased the tax rate, culminating in the [...]

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Does Every Estate Have To Pay An Estate Tax?

December 12, 2012

I often get calls and emails from Texans concerned about the amount of federal estate taxes that will be owed after their death. They worry that their estates won’t be liquid enough to pay those taxes and that their families will have to sell property to satisfy the estate’s tax liability. The vast majority of [...]

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The Future of the Estate Tax

July 25, 2012

On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 into law, which sets the federal estate tax rate at 35 percent for individual estates valued at over $5 million. It also allows portability of the estate tax exemption between spouses. Any part of the estate [...]

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Do I Have To Pay Taxes On An Inheritance From A
Foreign Relative?

July 25, 2011

In the United States, those who receive gifts are not required to pay any gift taxes. The burden of paying the gift tax falls on the gift-giver. The same is true for those who receive testamentary gifts. The fact that the gift is from a foreign person is irrelevant. Although gifts or inheritances from foreign [...]

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Estate Planning for Couples

April 11, 2011

Under the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 into law on December 17 of last year, individuals can pass up to $5 million free of any estate tax liability. Additionally, can pass up to $10 million free of estate tax because a deceased spouse can transfer any unused tax exemption [...]

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Does Texas Have an Inheritance Tax?

March 1, 2011

The short answer to the question is no. Before 1995, Texas collected a separate inheritance tax, called a “pick-up tax.” The tax did not increase the total amount of estate tax paid upon death. Rather, a portion of the federal estate tax, equal to the allowable state death tax credit on the federal estate tax [...]

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