The following letter was recently distributed to clients and friends of Cole Schotz:

Dear Clients and Friends:

Due to Congressional inaction in the final weeks of 2009, the Federal estate tax has been repealed for individuals dying in 2010 and the generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax has been repealed for generation-skipping transfers made in 2010. However, current law provides that the estate tax and GST tax will be restored as of January 1, 2011 with only a $1 million applicable exclusion and a $1 million GST exemption, indexed since 1998 for inflation, as compared to the $3.5 million applicable exclusion and GST tax exemption that had been in effect in 2009. The Federal gift tax remains in place (though at a lower tax rate) with a $1 million exemption and will not change except as to certain specialized trusts.