Death Taxes

With the latest Robin Hood film, we once again are shown a hero who stood up to unjust government policies. Robin Hood’s M.O. of “robbing from the rich to give to the poor” was a reaction to the serial shakedown taxation practiced by Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Death Taxes are a controversial practice that allows the Federal government to take 40% of an estate’s valuation upon someone’s death. Depending on the state of domicile, the estate’s beneficiaries may be subject to inheritance taxes as well, further depleting the deceased’s hard-earned money. These taxes are referred to as death taxes because they are enacted when someone dies, and the Federal and State government may wind up “double dipping."

While strategies exist for transferring assets to beneficiaries in increments before one dies, these techniques often require a CPA to make sure they are 100% compliant, otherwise they can be disallowed.