The recent death of NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner makes for the 4th billionaire to die in 2010 and pay no estate tax under current law. Mr. Steinbrenner's estate has been estimated at $1.2 billion and absent some action from Congress, the expiration of the estate tax effective January 1, 2010 will permit his heirs to receive the full estate assets free of tax.
The as yet unresolved question of where the estate tax law will end up has caused much concern for estate planners and their clients. In the meantime, each passing day with no estate tax fix makes any law that Congress might eventually pass that much more of a constitutional question should the fix be retroactive to the beginning of 2010. You can bet the estates of the 2010 deceased billionaires will vigorously contest any efforts at retroactive effective date.
Had Mr. Steinbrenner died in 2009 or 2011 the estate tax would have been about $500 million. This has prompted some observers to call the timing "the ultimate home run."
