Is Decoupling Constitutional?

A recent article by Daniel B. Evans, a Philadelphia attorney who is the vice-chair of the Probate and Trust Division Economics and Technology of the Practice Committee of the American Bar Association, discusses The Constitutionality of Decoupling, Prob. & Prop., July/August 2005, at 22.

Here is Mr. Evans’ conclusion:

Even simple laws often have consequences that are difficult to predict.  Decoupling may have seemed like a simple solution to states facing a loss of revenue after Congress decided to phase out the state death tax credit, but it has raised some complex issues, including the constitutionality of a state attempting to tax the value of tangible property located in another state.  Lawyers and accountants representing estates with property in more than one state should be mindful of the constitutional issue and should resist overreaching by the states that have decoupled.