New Bills Aim to Restore Estate Tax in 2010

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Karen Meckstroth

On October 22nd, Rep. Berkley (D-NY) introduced H.R. 3905 to "amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 1-year termination of the estate tax, to increase the estate and gift tax unified credit, and to coordinate a reduction in the maximum rate of tax with a phaseout of the deduction for State death taxes."

  • The bill increases the federal estate tax exemption from $3,650,000 in 2010 to $5,000,000 in 2019 and thereafter.  The bill decreases the maximum tax rate from 44% in 2010 to 35% in 2019 and thereafter.

On October 15, 2009, Rep. Schrader (D-OR) introduced H.R. 3841 (pdf) "[t]o amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal carryover basis for decedents dying in 2009, to increase the estate tax exemption to $5,000,000, and to reduce the maximum estate and gift tax rate to 45 percent."

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Upcoming Seminar: Presence and Ethics at the End of Life

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Karen Meckstroth

On November 12th, I will be giving a Silicon Valley Bar Association seminar on Preparing for Dying: Presence and Ethics at the End of Life with sociologist and filmmaker Dr. Michelle Peticolas and estate planning attorney Deborah Radin of Kramer Radin, LLP.  

We will begin the seminar by watching Dr. Peticolas's award-winning documentary, Caring for Dying: the Art of Being Present.  You can view a trailer for the film here. 

Deborah Radin will cover the benefits of using advance health care directives to make decisions about the end-of-life.  She will also discuss what an "ethical will" is and how individuals can use ethical wills to transfer their personal values, history and legacy. 

I will discuss estate planning ethical issues and rules of professional conduct when representing a client at the end of life.  If you are an estate planning attorney who has worked with clients in hospice, you are aware that there are numerous ethical issues, including knowing who the client is, undue influence, and capacity.  I plan to cover these and other topics.

Attorneys will receive one hour of ethics credit for attending the seminar.  You can register for the event through the Silicon Valley Bar Association.

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