July3,2009 | www.birminghambusinessjournal.com EstatE Planning birmingham business Journal 13
this week's question:
What changes do you expect to see from
the new administration and Congress with
regards to the estate tax and what impact will
those changes have on estate planning?
"I expect the administration and
Congress will make some changes to the
current estate tax law.
I anticipate that the 2009 levels for the
exclusion-from-tax amount and high-
est marginal tax rate will
be made permanent by
Congress and that the
administration will pro-
pose a few changes in the
estate tax law to further
limit certain tax reduc-
tion techniques that are
currently viewed as only
available to `the rich.'"
Ross N. Cohen
Partner
Haskell SlaughterYoung & Rediker LLC
"The $3.5 estate tax exemption will be
extended through next year.
In 2010, it is very possible the exemp-
tion will be lowered to $1 million - $2
million, discounts for family entities will
be limited and grantor
retained annuity trusts
will be eliminated for all
practical purposes to raise
revenue for health care
and the recovery.
Lifetime giving and
transfers will become even
more critical, especially
from now until the end of
the year."
Howard Neiswender
Partner
Balch & Bingham LLP
"The maximum amount that can be
bequeathed that is not protected by the
marital or charitable deduc-
tion will be made perma-
nent at $3.5 million and
possibly made portable
between spouses; the gift
and estate tax will be reuni-
fied; the benefits of grantor
retained annuity trusts will
be reduced; and discounts of
the value of the underlying
passive investment assets of entities will be
unavailable.
Fewer families will write wills that are tax-
driven, and families for which the transfer
tax remains an issue will have fewer tax
reduction alternatives."
Danny Markstein III
Shareholder
Maynard Cooper & Gale PC
D R A W I N G O N A W E A L T H O F K N O W L E D G E
201 Office Park Drive, Suite 300 Birmingham, Alabama 35223
Telephone: 205-909-5000 bridgeworthfinancial.com
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP�, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM
and in the U.S. Associates of Bridgeworth Financial are registered representatives of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp.
Securities and advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. a broker/dealer (Member SIPC) and a registered
investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. CRN200811-2022951
Henry Ware
Wayne Harris
Larry Goldberg
Kathryn Hefferly
Stephen Iaconis
Stanley Funches
Jackie Tucker
Scott Mullins
Marc Curles
Jeff McCormack
DeLynn Zell
John White
P u t t i n g o u r c o m b i n e d 1 7 0 y e a r s o f e x P e r i e n c e
a s c e rt i f i e d f i n a n c i a l P l a n n e rt m
P r o f e s s i o n a l s
t o w o r k f o r o u r c l i e n t s .
Maybe it's time to bring in some heavy hitters.
With over 75 lawyers, we are one of the largest law firms in the state of
Alabama. We offer our clients decades of experience and the necessary
resources to handle the myriad of complex corporate, financial,
business and regulatory matters that they encounter. Business gets more
competitive, complicated and litigious every day; perhaps choosing
a heavier hitter can save you time, money and maybe your livelihood.
� � � � �
No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.
Contact:T. Bruce McGowin, Esq., RSA Tower, Suite 30200, 11 North Water Street, Mobile,AL 36602.
Cohen Neiswender
Markstein
Line
Bottom
the

Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24 Produced by PageSuite