Estate planning has truly evolved over the past 20 years. Gone is the uncertainty about federal estate taxes and the absolute requirement for married couples to use complex trusts to minimize these taxes. But also gone is planning for the “traditional” family. In this issue you will learn why estate planning has become more complicated and what your clients need to do now to insure their estate plans are flexible enough to roll with the changes. Warning:  Estate Planning Today is Harder Than Ever Before In 1995 the federal estate tax exemption was only $600,000 and the estate tax rate was 55%. Back then it was easy to accumulate a taxable estate by simply owning a home, a few investments and some life insurance. And while married couples could pass on two times the exemption ($1.2 million) free from estate taxes if they incorporated Marital/Family Trusts into their estate plan,

While approximately 10,000 cases are appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court each year, only 75 to 80 make it to oral argument. Of those 75 to 80 cases, there are usually only a few that grab the media’s attention. This newsletter highlights three landmark decisions handed down in 2015— Comptroller v. Wynne, King v. Burrell, and Obergefell v. Hodges—that could affect how your clients are taxed, pay for healthcare, and plan their estates. Comptroller v. Wynne – A State Can’t Double-Tax Income Earned Outside of the State Legal Issue: Does Maryland’s state income tax scheme violate the U.S. Constitution by “double taxing” a resident’s income earned from economic activity in another state that also taxes the same income? Decision, 5 – 4: In a taxpayer friendly decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Maryland’s “double taxation” scheme violates the dormant Commerce Clause of the Constitution. This case involved a Maryland couple,