Yet Another Artifact of the Bush Tax Cuts

If some rich guy dies in the next few days, it could get very ugly for his wife:

Spouses of those wealthy who die this year might find themselves with nothing if the family will isn't revised—a major wrinkle that could follow Friday's repeal of the federal estate tax.

As started on Jan. 1, estate taxes will be repealed for 2010 only. That means unless Congress acts otherwise, there is no limit to the wealth that can be passed on to heirs without incurring federal estate taxes through the end of the year.

But wills have often been written on the expectation that estate taxes were a fact of life for years to come, estate planners say. As a result, wills typically direct assets not subject to the tax be passed on to children—for 2009, up to $3.5 million—with the rest directed to the spouse.

"You could be in a situation now where everything would go into a trust downstream to the kids and nothing is left to the spouse," …………

So, in addition to giving heirs a motive to bump you off, you could leave your spouse without anything when you die, and if the taxes go back into effect, which is a highly likely scenario, you have lawsuits to claw it back.

It ain't just the Supreme Court where the misdeeds of Bush and His Evil Minions^™ will be felt for years.