Cut Down in the Prime Of Her Estate PlanningCut Down in the Prime Of Her Estate Planning
What remedies are available when an unexpected death short-circuits an estate plan, leaving heirs to pay more taxes than they would have had their benefactor lived a little longer? In wrongful death cases, one state may now permit estate-tax planning losses to be factored into compensatory damages. But advisors beware: There's a general duty to mitigate damages. Advisors should therefore take note
Michael Ben-Jacob, principal, Withers Bergman LLP, New York, and Ian Marsh, principal, Withers LL
What remedies are available when an unexpected death short-circuits an estate plan, leaving heirs to pay more taxes than they would have had their benefactor lived a little longer? In wrongful death cases, one state may now permit estate-tax planning losses to be factored into compensatory damages. But advisors beware: There's a general duty to mitigate damages. Advisors should therefore take note of post-mortem mitigation techniques, which vary depending upon the decedent's state and country of domicile.
Whether a beneficiary's loss of estate-tax planning advantages can be deemed a proper element of damages in a wrongful death action has been...
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