From the category archives:

estate & gift

Has Obama Changed the Race?

19 March 2008

If you had asked me, before today, what the single most important issue would be in the upcoming presidential election, I would have said the economy, hands down. For purposes of the election, it’s more important to voters than Iraq, than health care, than the environment (though clearly those issues are intertwined with the [...]

6 comments Read the full article →

Ask the taxgirl: Anniversary Presents

10 December 2007

Taxpayer asks:
This year, I will have been married for 25 years. To celebrate, I bought my wife a very nice piece of jewelry; I have never purchased anything this expensive for my wife before (if you do not count our house and cars). My friend has advised that I will need to pay [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Dog “inherits” $12 million from Leona Helmsley

29 August 2007

There’s Trouble in New York. And he’s rich.
Trouble, the beloved Maltese belonging to Leona Helmsley, is the beneficiary of a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court. Helmsley’s brother, Alvin Rosenthal, was named Trouble’s caretaker.
Helmsley’s only child, Jay Panzirer, died at the age of [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Ask the Taxgirl: Educational Expenses

23 August 2007

Taxpayer asks: My son’s grandmother has offered to pay his tuition for graduate school this year. Can she get a tax deduction for this? Does my school have to report this as income?
Taxgirl asks: First of all, as someone with a slew of student loans for graduate school, tell your son [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Stranger things have happened.

26 July 2007

But not many… in the Ways and Means Committee.
The Business Journal of Phoenix (how’s that for a source?) is reporting that U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell, a Democrat of Arizona, is introducing a bill to keep federal capital-gains taxes permanently at 15 percent and to make recent cuts to federal estate taxes permanent. The Democratic Representative [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Ask the Taxgirl: Taxable Gifts

15 March 2007

Taxpayer asks: My mom gave me money through my paypal account. There were 3 separate transactions totaling $380 but was non-business related, do I need to claim these transactions along with the other income from my business since they used my PayPal account? Taxgirl says:  Absolutely not! Though I will take this opportunity to discourage [...]

5 comments Read the full article →

Fix The Tax Code Friday: Estate Tax

23 February 2007

When Congress first introduced the wacky legislation that is the current federal estate tax situation (an exemption that gradually rises to $3.5 million per person, is eliminated in the year 2010 and returns in 2011 to its "old self") most folks assumed we had plenty of time to fix it. 2010 seemed years away.  Now, [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

Where’s There’s A Will, There’s Confusion

17 February 2007

The most recent news out of the Anna Nicole Smith camp is that her Will does not provide for anyone other than her now deceased son, Daniel. In fact, it specifically excludes afterborn children and future spouses.
Of course, the wrench in all of this is that Daniel predeceased Anna Nicole, thus likely creating an intestacy [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

The Estate of the Union.

8 February 2007

Just hours after the news of Anna Nicole Smith’s suspicious death broke, there were already questions about the status of her deceased husband’s estate. The main query was whether the case could proceed.  The short answer is yes, that absolutely it can proceed. In fact, the executor of her estate (who many people assume will [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

You Look Dated.

17 January 2007

Dates matter.  Well, they do in Pennsylvania.  The latest flap over James Brown’s estate has taken yet another turn that apparently hinges on the interpretation of state law.
James Brown’s attorney, Strom Thurmond, Jr., has acknowledged that James Brown’s will was signed in the year 2000 – before James’ child, James Jr., was born.  The will [...]

0 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →