Your client Mary, a surviving spouse of John, has approached you
to provide her with gift and estate planning services. Respond to
the following questions and submit your answers in a Word Document
to the Unit 2: Assignment Dropbox. Remember to review and reference
the applicable sections of the Tax Code, including Publications 706
and 709. John died leaving Mary a house worth $700,000, company
stock worth $10 million, a vehicle worth $20,000, and other
personal items worth $5,000. Determine and explain the value of
John’s estate property and show the alternate valuation date.
Remember to discuss when the fair market values and sale values are
used. How do the estate income tax rules encourage a quick
distribution of the estate assets of John? In your analysis, use
income tax rate for income earned by assets held within an estate
of 39.6% at $12,400 in 2016.
