Fiscal cliff deal brings some certainty to estate planning

Description

Abstract: Congress’s eleventh-hour deal to avert the “fiscal cliff” produced the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA). The act focuses on income taxes, but it also provides much-needed certainty for people engaged in estate planning. This article discusses the act’s provisions that pertain to the unified gift and estate tax exemption and the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax exemption; exemption portability; and other estate planning benefits. A sidebar notes the benefits of a “charitable IRA rollover,” also available under ATRA.