Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

February 21, 2013 | New Jersey Law Journal

In December, many estate planners helped clients to capture the $5.12 million exemption from the federal gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, before it was potentially reduced to $1 million on January 1. On January 2, they learned that the exemption had in fact been raised to $5.25 million. However, the planners don't expect that the clients who took action in December will have donor's remorse.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

6 minute read

March 01, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

Many people have been sleeping easier at night ever since January 2, when President Obama signed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) into law, thereby permanently setting the federal estate tax exemption to $5 million, indexed for inflation.

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

6 minute read

October 04, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

In prior articles, we've focused on the federal gift and estate taxes and the advisability of engaging in careful estate planning to minimize the need to pay these hefty transfer taxes, which are imposed at a 40 percent rate to the extent an individual's cumulative taxable wealth transfers exceed the $5.25 million exemption.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

10 minute read

November 30, 2012 | The Recorder

Congress' inaction may require gifting assets this year to avoid a higher estate tax down the line, explain Bala Law Group attorneys.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

8 minute read

May 03, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

On April 10, President Obama released his fiscal year 2014 budget proposal. The proposal includes numerous changes to the law that would create greater exposure to estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes.

By Amy Neifeld Shkedy and Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen

10 minute read

November 20, 2012 | The Legal Intelligencer

We may be facing a "use it or lose it" scenario when it comes to year-end planning for estate and gift taxes. Yet, because of the uncertainty in the laws, many taxpayers have not taken any action.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

8 minute read

February 01, 2013 | The Legal Intelligencer

January 2 felt like a mix between the Twilight Zone and April Fools' Day for us, and we suspect for most of our fellow estate planners (as well as for many of our clients). During prior years in our careers, we've had a few time-sensitive year-end matters to manage for clients, but the end of 2012 was far busier than any prior year in our combined 30 years of practice (we were coordinating with clients up until about 4 p.m. on New Year's Eve). After inquiring with our colleagues, and as we recently learned from other estate planners at an annual estate planning conference we attended in Orlando, Fla., in January, many have had similar experiences, recounting stories of coordinating with clients and their financial advisers on the very last day of the year.

By Rebecca Rosenberger Smolen and Amy Neifeld Shkedy

6 minute read