Resources

On July 13, 2010, George Steinbrenner passed away. Steinbrenner’s estimated worth was approximately $1.15 billion according to multiple media outlets. However, unlike Joe Robbie, the former owner of the Miami Dolphins, whose family had to sell the Dolphins to pay estate taxes, Yankee fans have nothing to worry about. Why? Because as of January 1, 2010, federal estate taxes have been repealed. Since there is no federal estate tax this year, Mr. Steinbrenner’s estate will not be subject to a tax bill that in 2009 could have equaled approximately $500 million (a 45% rate).

Recently, Melvin Simon, the founder of Simon Property Group (the largest mall operator in the United States) died. It was reported that his estate was valued at about one billion dollars. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing court filings, seven months before he died, he “altered his will during a three-hour meeting in Asherwood, his palatial home near Indianapolis. A financial adviser had to hold and guide his hand as he signed the revised document.”

I find that clients often use the terms “estate tax” and “inheritance tax” interchangeably. Usually, that isn’t a problem, and I know exactly what they are talking about. However, in New Jersey there really is a distinction between the “estate tax” and the “inheritance tax.” This is New Jersey, after all — so we have two taxes. Go figure!

In a unanimous decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court recently ruled that the estate of a deceased spouse who died while her divorce matter was pending, was entitled to assert equitable claims against the surviving spouse. The case of Kay v. Kay, 405 N.J. Super 278 (App. Div. 2009), aff’d, ____ N.J. ___ (2010), was a logical extension of the Supreme Court’s decision in Carr v. Carr, 120 N.J. 336 (1990) and a rejection of the case of Kruzdlo v. Kruzdlo, 251 N.J. Super. 70 (Ch. Div. 1990).