The feculent death tax is still in place, and much more of a burden than most people realize.
A friend of mine died eight months ago, thinking that his lawyers had made the best possible arrangements to minimize the death tax and to provide for a smooth transfer of his assets to the family.
Since a few of his most recent acquisitions were not specifically listed in the trust, the Fed. used them as an opening to pry into everything, the estate is still in probate.
His kids are not starving, they are successful in their own right.
But dragging the estate through the hands of lawyers and the Fed for month's is draining away ever more of the original amount, his widow is in poor health, so the Fed. will likely hit the jack-pot again in a short time.
I couldn't agree more. The worst case I've heard of was with a farmer who had not made much money, but had a large amount of farm land. He had not planned for the estate tax at all, because he was never cash rich. When he died, it bankrupted the sons he left the land to because they had to sell a third of the property to pay the tax. It's bad law designed to punish people for achieving the American dream!