If one of this year's New Year's resolutions was to cut back on the cost of keeping Granny alive, congratulate yourself for not acting on it. On Saturday, the federal estate tax (known to Republicans as the "death tax") expires, which means that so can Granny, without costing her heirs, legatees, and devisees a cent in tax. But don't be a slacker in 2010, because the estate tax comes back in 2011 at a rate of 55 per cent, with an exemption of only a little more than $1 million.
For a peek at the ethical agonies besetting the hearts of the potentially-much-richer, check out today's (12/30/09) Wall Street Journal:
"I have two clients on life support, and the families are struggling with whether to continue heroic measures for a few more days," says Joshua Rubenstein, a lawyer with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in New York. "Do they want to live for the rest of their lives having made serious medical decisions based on estate-tax law?"
Of course they don't want to live for the rest of their lives having made serious medical decisions based on estate-tax law. On the other hand, isn't Granny entitled to every day of life we can possible give her--at least up to a point?
