Tag Archives: Estate Tax

Preserve the Fruits of Your Labors – Estate Planning for Farmers

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Roger Billings

Farmers spend their lives investing their money, their time and the sweat of their brow into their fields and orchards. It is a cruel but all-too-common fate that in the end, when the owner passes on, the land must be … Continue reading →






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Planning for Art Collectors

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Roger Billings

I could happily get lost in a museum. Vermeer and Van Gogh, Durer and David are favorite painters. Greek sculpture and Gothic architecture fascinate me. I love art. I can understand the desire to own a masterpiece. But valuable art creates unique estate … Continue reading →






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Think Twice Before Giving It All Away

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Roger Billings

Whether assets are inherited at death or given away while you are still alive, the federal estate tax exemption is essentially the same, currently $5,340,000 per person. But the effect of capital gains tax may be the deciding factor. The … Continue reading →






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Obama Still Trying to Overhaul Estate Tax

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Roger Billings

Yesterday, April 10, President Obama released a 2014 budget proposal in which he seeks to overhaul the estate tax, yet again. According to Bloomberg Businessweek: Obama’s budget would drop the per-person exemption from estate taxes to $3.5 million from $5.25 … Continue reading →






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A Facebook Billionaire in Singapore, and Estate Taxes

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Roger Billings

One popular version of the American dream is the opportunity to go to a great university, graduate, work hard, get rich and retire. The “Facebook” entrepreneurs, Mark Zuckerberg’s collaborators, have turned this dream on its head. Go to college, meet … Continue reading →






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Is Congress Driving You Crazy?

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Roger Billings

  When I was in law school, I interviewed for a job with a Washington DC tax attorney. Congress had just overhauled the tax code, and I asked how the changes had affected his practice. What started as a job … Continue reading →






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Steve Jobs Died Without Owing Estate Tax: A New Urban Legend?

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Roger Billings

  After the death of Steve Jobs last week, opinions started circulating that he was so smart that he even knew how to avoid paying estate taxes better than anyone else. Jobs was smart and he seems to have done … Continue reading →






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