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Estate planning 101; What every CPA should know.(EstatePlanning)
- Article from:
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California CPA
- Article date:
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June 1, 2008
- Author:
- Weintraub, William M.; Allmon, Michael B.
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2008 California Society of Certified Public Accountants. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Most clients assume their CPAs are experts in all things financial, especially as related to tax matters. They believe that if there is anything important for them to plan for, their CPAs will raise the matter. One particular area that many clients neglect, however, is estate planning. Some do not want to deal with mortality issues, others do not want to confront family issues and still others think that the estate plan they made 20 years ago is fine.
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Moreover, clients are generally unaware of the state of the estate tax laws. For example, despite repeated efforts by Congress to repeal the "death tax," no agreement has been reached. The current ...