As 2011 comes to a close, clients, their advisers, and
fiduciaries should examine possible estate planning techniques and
steps to undertake in 2012. Next year, hopefully, will be less
challenging than 2011, but in these uncertain times for tax
legislation, one simply never knows. For example, in 2011, many
expressed the concern that Congress might eliminate one of the most
beneficial provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance
Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the "2010 Tax
Act"), the $5 million exemption for lifetime transfers, as of
November 23, 2011. Many believed that the deficit-reduction super
committee might, as part of its efforts to craft a plan to reduce
federal budget deficits by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years,
eliminate the $5 million lifetime exemption. The collapse of the
super committee's efforts alleviated this concern, but only to
replace it with more uncertainty about the course Congress and the
President might take to
