Terry Pratchett's Executor Destroys Unpublished Work of Author

As a fan of the works of Author Terry Pratchett, in particular Going Postal and Making Money, I got a chuckle out of this story in the New York Times.  As some of you are aware, Terry Pratchett died in 2015.  One of his last wishes was that all of his unpublished works be destroyed by a steamroller.  A few days ago, Rob Wilkins, his estate manager posted a picture of a steamroller running over a hard drive.

Compare what Terry Pratchett did with what the Administrator of Prince's estate is doing.  Comerica Bank and Trust, as Trustee of Prince's estate, is slowly analyzing all of Prince's unpublished works and the plan is to release an album shortly to maximize the value of the estate.  Whether or not Prince would have wanted the works to be released is debatable, but because he did not leave clear instructions, an Administrator is obligating to exploit the assets as best it can so that his heirs receive the most money possible.

Remember, if you have written any books or have any other intellectual property where you wish to control of their disposition after you pass away, you must leave specific instructions for what you want done in your last Will and Testament (or other estate planning documents).  You may also name a separate executor or agent to manage your intellectual property (who may be distinct from the person managing the rest of your financial affairs).

Will the New Jersey Estate Tax Repeal Become Permanent?

As most of my estate planning clients are aware, I have been very cautious regarding whether or not New Jersey will keep a $2,000,000 estate tax exemption beyond 2017 or allow for a full repeal. However, it is worth noting that the front-runner for Governor, Phil Murphy, released part of his tax and spending plan today.  See this article on NJ.com: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2017/08/murphy_tax_plan_would_raise_13_billion_heres_whod.html

As part of the plan, he stated that he has NO intentions of re-introducing the estate tax.  Accordingly, there is probably a good chance that the repeal of the NJ Estate Tax does become permanent.  Only time will tell though.

NJ Has Finally Released 2017 Estate Tax Return and Calculator

As I know many of you have been waiting anxiously, I wanted to make sure that you are aware that the New Jersey Division of Taxation has finally released the 2017 Estate Tax Return form.  They have also released an estate tax calculator so that we can accurately prepare the return.  The NJ 2017 Estate Tax Calculator can be downloaded from the NJ Department of Treasury website.

The New Jersey Estate Tax Calculator is important because the new estate tax law was crafted with a slight flaw in it because it has a circular calculation.  (This means the tax can't be calculated without reference to the tax, which in effect, changes the tax, over and over again.) For example, if you were to look at the statute, you may think that if you had an estate of $2,001,000, the estate would be taxed at 7.2% on the $1,000 that you were over the $2M threshhold.  This is not true.  According to the calculator, the tax is $66.82, not $72.  As the numbers get higher, this obviously becomes more important.

Anyway, the good news is that if you are an executor, administrator or involved in an estate of someone who passed away in 2017, you can now start the process of filing a New Jersey estate tax return.