We advise our domestic and international clients on a broad spectrum of legal needs, including: estate and tax planning; business succession issues; litigated Surrogate's Court cases; trust and estate administration; lifetime transfers of wealth; and private foundations. We handle many of our clients' tax issues, including controversies with the Internal Revenue Service and other taxing authorities.
Tax Legislation Provides Long-Awaited Transfer Tax Relief and Planning Opportunities
December 20, 2010
On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the "Act") into law, extending the Bush tax cuts for another two years and providing long-awaited clarity with respect to the estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer ("GST") tax laws for 2010, 2011, and 2012. Among other things, the Act offers greatly expanded estate, gift, and GST exemption amounts, reduced transfer tax rates, and a 0% tax rate for 2010 GST transfers, creating an optimum tax environment for transferring wealth to future generations. Because the state of the law in 2013 and beyond remains unclear, those who wish to take advantage of the favorable tax rules may want to act within the two-year window governed by the Act.