The estate tax is one of the most unfair and possibly unconstitutional taxes in the US tax code. The constitution requires equal treatment of all citizens and the estate tax violates this in every regard. Consider a wealthy entrepreneur who works his entire life, pays income tax, property tax, sales tax, and a myriad of other taxes and despite all of this burden, has accumulated a significant amount of wealth. And now, upon his death, his heirs will be required to forfeit nearly 50% of this after tax wealth, to the US Treasury department.
The government is not a producer of wealth, but a consumer who has a near 100% failure rate in business management. Is this really the best entity to receive a large portion of your wealth? Or would it be best for your heirs to take control of your assets and continue to grow this from their efforts? Your estate can be used to create more wealth and more opportunities, not only for your heirs, but for those other beneficiaries as well. The beneficiaries may be the employees of your business(s) or the recipients of your investments.
This continuation of wealth can grow and create opportunities for generations to come. Or it can be destroyed by government ownership. Without a proper asset protection and estate plan, your estate will likely have to liquidate assets in order to satisfy estate taxes. Do you have a proper plan in place?
