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Federal Estate Tax

Marsha Goetting and, Joel Schumacher (January, 2016)

Summary

The Federal Estate Tax is a tax on the transfer of property at death. The amount of the estate tax depends upon the value of the assets the decedent (the person who died) held at death, taxable transfers during life, how assets are titled, and deductions and credits available. In many cases, the potential estate tax can be reduced significantly by careful planning during life.