Introduction to Estate and Gift Taxes
A standard free source of essential estate and gift tax information is IRS Pub. 950 an Introduction to Estate and Gift Taxes.
This new edition is must reading for anyone involved in updating their estate plan because of all the upcoming changes resulting from the scheduled elimination of the estate tax in 2010 and the change back to a $1.0 million exempt amount for deaths occurring in 2011 and thereafter. Until the recent market crash Congress was expected to pass legislation to put the exempt amount in the $3.0 to $4.0 million range. Congressional priorities have changed and new sources of revenue to fund the various bailouts will be a high priority.