Many of us were saddened at the passing of James Gandolfini. If Tony Soprano knew who advised James regarding his estate planning, he would have him wacked. Due to the way his will was written, James Gandolfini’s estate will pay $30 million in estate tax. Yes, that says $30 million. The problem was a simple one to avoid.

Mr. Gandolfini names his 9 year old Daughter and his sisters as the major beneficiaries to his estate. If he had named his Wife as the primary beneficiary, his estate would have passed in total to her without a penny of estate tax owed as his death. This is the Unlimited Marital Asset provision of the Estate Tax Code. By naming non-spousal beneficiaries to inherit the bulk of his estate, the tax after $1.5 million, starts at 55%.

I don’t think the James Gandolfini wanted to be philanthropic to the Federal Government vs. his family. A meeting with a qualified Estate Planning Attorney would have avoided this tax.

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