The State of the States: 2016The State of the States: 2016

State legislatures have been very busy on a number of trust and estate related fronts. Here’s an update on some key planning developments across the country, through Dec. 1, 2016.

Estate and Gift Tax  

To be more competitive, some jurisdictions with separate estate taxes have been increasing the amount that’s exempt from state estate taxes or even phasing out their estate or inheritance taxes. President-elect Donald J. Trump campaigned on eliminating the federal estate tax. A repeal of the federal estate tax would have a significant trickle-down effect at the state level on a number of issues. In particular, some states peg their estate tax exemption amounts to the federal exemption amount and might need to take specific action to decouple...