Also at MSU, he has been instrumental in designing, developing, and implementing a graduate program in taxation. He authored numerous articles that appeared in publications including Journal of Accountancy, Taxes, Management Accounting, Financial Executive, Estate Planning, Trusts and Estates, the CPA Journal, and others. He also coauthored seven books. The Tax Reform Act of 1976 has caused sweeping changes in the estate and gift areas. In fact, these changes have been so dramatic, and so extensive that they are surpassed in scope only by the original estate and gift tax legislation.
Estate planning is still possible.
Since the estate tax was removed from approximately two-thirds of the current estates, the tax burden has shifted to the large estates. Thus, estate planning is quite critical for large estates if they are to avoid the erosion of estate assets by federal and state death taxes. Even though the tax changes have been far-reaching, the effect on any particular taxpayer depends entirely on his own specific circumstances. To be in the best possible position, taxpayers should first be aware of all the property they own and, secondly, resolve in their minds how the property might best be distributed among future heirs. As soon as these steps are taken, expert estate and gift planning advice should be sought in order to ensure that these wishes are fulfilled at the minimum tax cost.