Small Business Estate Tax Strategies

Last month the Wall Street Journal featured an article about the estate tax strategies of small business owners whose assets are largely tied up in operating their business.  The following excerpt provides one business owner’s perspective on planning for a potential estate tax of 15 to 20 million dollars:

Mr. Sukup, who is in good health, has been contributing large sums of money to his life-insurance policy. He says he hopes his sons will be able to tap those funds after he dies to pay the tax. But Mr. Sukup says setting up the strategy has cost him a lot in counseling and lawyer’s fees. “We are spending the same amount in life insurance as the tax,” he says.

For more information, see Emily Maltby, Amid Debate, Business Owners Struggle With Estate-Tax Strategies, WSJ, Dec. 16, 2009.

Special thanks to Patrick S. Sylvester (Attorney & Counselor at Law, Sylvester Law Firm, PC) for bringing this article to my attention.