Estate Tax, part 4

The Estate Tax was allowed to expire, an outcome that was set in motion by a law passed in 2001. So, at the moment there is no “death tax.” However, Congress plans to resurrect it, probably retroactive to January 1, 2010. The only reason they let it expire was that they were too busy arguing about health care.
In 2009 the estate tax exemption was $3.5 million, with a 45% tax on everything above that amount. Guesstimates are that the new law will have an exemption of between $3.5 million and $5 million.
Stay tuned for further developments.