A common financial mistake married farm couples make occurs when the first spouse dies, and the surviving spouse fails to “elect portability.” It’s a process by which any unused federal gift or estate ...

The IRS on Thursday issued Notice 2011-82 to alert executors of the estates of decedents dying after Dec. 31, 2010, of the need to file a Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping ...

On Tuesday, the IRS posted a draft version of the instructions to Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, a follow-up to the draft Form 706 that was posted in ...

One of the most overlooked and misunderstood tax laws – available to married farming couples – is an opportunity called portability. When one of the spouses dies, the surviving spouse can make a ...

Last December, Congress pushed through a whole set of changes meant to make them look good on Election Day things easier for taxpayers. One of the changes was the new portability provision which ...

The new Part 6 of the draft Form 706 states that a decedent with a surviving spouse elects portability of the DSUE amount, if any, by completing and timely filing the Form 706. No further action is ...

The IRS issued a private letter ruling on I.R.C. §2010 and Treas. Reg. §301.9100 granting a 120-day extension for the decedent’s estate to file Form 706 and make a portability ...

On Oct. 4, the Internal Revenue Service posted final Form 706 for individuals dying in 2012. It posted final updated instructions on Oct. 12. Here’s an overview of the new form and instructions and ...

When someone passes away, what the person passes down to his or her beneficiaries may be subject to federal estate taxes. If the decedent “skips” a generation in passing along assets then it may ...

One of the great challenges in financial planning is figuring out how to transfer wealth from one generation to the next in the most tax efficient manner possible. Tax efficiency, in this context, ...