The Estate & Gift Tax Handbook is a practical exploration of federal estate and gift taxation providing advice on estate and gift tax practice and procedure. It is designed to be a useful resource for professionals in estate planning and money management including attorneys, fiduciaries, paralegals, accountants and other tax professionals, financial planners, life insurance and annuity sellers, plan administrators, planned giving officers, IRA providers, mutual fund companies, trust officers, actuaries and others dealing with the complexities of the estate and gift tax system. In one volume, the reader will find all the information, explanations, completed IRS forms, and checklists necessary to arrange a person's affairs, both before and after death, to minimize the estate and gift transfer tax burden, to maximize wealth transfers through lifetime and testamentary giving and to achieve a basis step-up for appreciated assets in order to reduce income taxes when these assets are sold by beneficiaries.
The book is organized in an outline format that provides the reader with several ways to locate any covered topic instantly. Key concepts are explained and illustrated, with numerous examples and sample completed Internal Revenue Service forms, schedules, and worksheets. Included in each chapter are useful cross references to related matters dealt with elsewhere in the book. In addition, citations to statutes, regulations, and cases are provided within the text and in footnotes. A comprehensive index is located at the back of the book to direct the reader to the precise location of each topic discussed. Also included at the back is a complete glossary of important terms related to the federal estate and gift tax system.
Written in concise, jargon-free language to elucidate and demystify this complicated area of the law, the book will be a valuable resource to readers approaching the subject from varied backgrounds and disciplines. All relevant terms and key concepts are thoroughly defined and illustrated.
With each edition, the Estate & Gift Tax Handbook is updated to reflect all legislative, judicial and administrative developments that affect estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax and trust income tax in the past year. Also included are discussions of important IRS revenue rulings and procedures (including inflation adjustments), private letter rulings, notices, announcements, IRS forms, instructions and publications, treasury regulations, and significant developments from the federal courts including the U.S. Tax Court, the Claims Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals, as well as district courts around the country. Also discussed is how the increased federal income tax burden imposed on individuals, trusts and estates affects estate planning.
The changes discussed in each edition will affect the way estate planners think about preparing documents such as wills, trusts, and federal income, estate and gift tax returns.
