Estate Tax Changes Cause Hesitancy About Being a “Test Case”

The New York Times featured yet another article about the estate tax repeal of 2010. The following quote form the article, regarding generation-skipping transfers under the changed law, sums-up the uncertainty for estate planning attorneys well:

“You have to be somewhat hesitant,” Mr. Johnston of Holland & Knight said. “In estate planning, you don’t typically want to be the test case if you’re trying to pass big bucks down through the ages.”

Paul Sullivan, A Bizarre Year for the Estate Tax Will Require Extra Planning, NY Times, Jan. 8, 2010.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this to my attention.