Estate & Gift Tax Handbook (2012)

A practical exploration of federal estate and gift taxation, the Estate & Gift Tax Handbook provides timely and effective advice on estate and gift tax practice and procedure, and is a useful resource for estate-planning practitioners, fiduciaries, attorneys, and others dealing with the complexities of the estate and gift tax system. Now you can have one place to find all the information and tools necessary to arrange a person's affairs, both before and after death, to minimize the estate and gift tax burden and maximize wealth transfers through lifetime and testamentary giving. Written in concise, easy-to-understand language to demystify this complicated area of the law, the book is a valuable resource for readers approaching the subject from varied backgrounds and disciplines.

The 2012 edition of the Estate & Gift Tax Handbook updates the volume to reflect all legislative, judicial and administrative changes to the wealth transfer tax laws that occurred in the past year. These changes are important for the estate planner when advising clients on strategies designed to minimize wealth transfer tax and when preparing documents such as wills, trusts, and federal income, estate and gift tax returns. Included in the 2012 Estate & Gift Tax Handbook are important IRS revenue rulings, forms and publications, private letter rulings and IRS treasury regulations and significant developments from the federal courts including the U.S. Tax Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeal around the country.

The 2012 edition of Estate and Gift Tax Handbook covers the following developments:

• The following forms are completed for hypothetical taxpayers and entries and are explained line by line in the 2012 Estate & Gift Tax Handbook:
• Form 709, United States Gift (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return, for both a husband and a wife
• Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return
• Form 1041, United States Income Tax Return for a Trust
• Form 1041, United States Income Tax Return for an Estate
• Schedule J (Form 1041), Accumulation Distribution for Certain Complex Trusts
• Form 1040, Decedent's Final Individual Income Tax Return.