Federal Gift and Estate Tax: Understanding the Tax

The federal gift and estate tax is a tax that is levied on the value of gifts a taxpayer makes during his/her lifetime and/or at the time of death. In essence, it is a tax on the transfer of wealth. Because it would be impractical, if not impossible, to attempt to levy a tax on every individual gift made during a taxpayer’s lifetime, the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, effectively requires a taxpayer’s estate to “pay-up” after death. This reconciliation is accomplished during the probate process, which is the legal process that follows the death of a taxpayer. During probate, all assets owned by you at the time of death must be identified, located, valued, and inventoried.

Topics covered in this report include:

1. What Is the Federal Gift and Estate Tax?
2. How ATRA Changed the Lifetime Exemption
3. Using the Unlimited Marital Deduction
4. What Is Portability?

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Anthony Moccia

Anthony Moccia is an attorney and partner at The Law Offices of Kobrick & Moccia.His practice focuses on estate planning and elder law.He is a member of the New York State and Nassau County Bar Associations.He frequently presents free seminars on wills & living trusts to area residents and his seminars are said to be “informative, entertaining & easy to understand.”

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