- marital deduction
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marital deduction see deduction
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.
- marital deduction
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A deduction allowed by the federal estate tax laws for all property passed to a surviving spouse who is a U.S. citizen. This deduction (which really functions as an exemption) allows anyone, even a billionaire, to pass his or her entire estate to a surviving spouse without any estate tax at all.Under current federal law, this deduction is not available to same-sex couples even if they were validly married in a state that allows same-sex marriage.Category: Wills, Trusts & Estates → Estate Tax
Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. Gerald N. Hill, Kathleen Thompson Hill. 2009.
- marital deduction
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n. An estate or gift tax deduction for the value of property that was assigned or has passed to the taxpayer's spouse.
Webster's New World Law Dictionary. Susan Ellis Wild. 2000.
- marital deduction
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n.an estate tax deduction allowed a surviving spouse of half of the value of the estate of the deceased spouse. Thus, the minimum value of the estate before there is a possible federal estate tax rises from $600,000 (the level where estate tax begins to be calculated and charged) to $1,200,000 at the death of the first spouse to die. In trusts which a married couple creates, they can agree that on the death of the first to go, the amount of the property which is given to the survivor is limited to the amount which will not be subject to federal estate tax, thus delaying some or all estate tax until the death of the surviving spouse. Such trust provisions should be written only by an attorney and with consultation with an accountant or financial adviser.
Law dictionary. EdwART. 2013.