2010 is the year of Throw Momma From The Train! For this year only, there is no federal estate tax, so if you are old and sick, beware of your relatives, especially the ones in your will.
The thinking behind this tax break was that it was enacted so far in advance, it was difficult to consider the thinking. Actually we had been raising the estate tax limit every year, and 2010 was a year to reset the rate to what it was about ten years earlier.
Nothing is certain except death and taxes. Congress still has the opportunity to combine the two this year if they include a retroactive provision, in which case you could still face federal estate taxes along with criminal charges if you throw momma from the train.
Regardless whether Congress fails to restore death with taxes, the estate tax will rise from the dead in 2011 at its 2001 levels.
