It’s official! President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief Act of 2010 making major gift, estate and generation skipping tax changes. Under the new law, the estate tax exemption is increased to $5 million per taxpayer and the maximum tax rate is lowered to 35%. In addition, the unused exemption of a deceased spouse may be transferred to the surviving spouse, who together would have a combined estate tax exemption of $10 million per couple. This article highlights the implications of these tax law changes on estate planning.

No time period in my memory has been as economically tumultuous as the last few years. And no period has so clearly demonstrated the need to manage risk. Many business owners and investors have experienced huge financial setbacks or even worse, including some very capable ones. Failures come from a variety of origins, including inadequate liability insurance, declining asset values, limitations in financing opportunities, collection difficulties with customers, declining sales opportunities, etc. Whatever the cause, the consequences are often devastating.

Limiting risk and safeguarding your assets from loss is not a new idea. Asset Protection Planning is the name sometimes given to the process of arranging your assets to protect them against the risk of loss to future creditors.

By Dennis L. Voelkel, Esq. Federal estate tax planning has become a less important planning objective for an increasing number estate planning clients due to a combination of the substantial increase in the federal estate exemption in recent years and the decline in the net worth of many clients due to the slide real estate […]