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Brief NotesHere are some recent laws and court decisions to ponder:Three Federal Tax Law Changes January 1, 2006 The Federal Estate Tax Exemption (i.e., the threshold for payment of federal and estate taxes upon death) is increased from $1.5 million to $2 million. The Annual Gift Tax Exclusion is raised from $11,000 to $12,000 per year per person (no tax or even tax return will be due for amounts that do not exceed the exclusion). Finally, the Generation Skipping Tax Exemption will increase to $2 million. (Tax applied to gifts skipping a generation, such as to grandchildren.) Innocent Buyer Without Remedy Can the buyer of a used car which had been stolen four years earlier, then recovered, sue the insurance carrier which had reported the theft and failed to report the recovery, where the innocent buyer was thereafter arrested for stealing the car? The Pennsylvania Superior Court has said "no." The Superior Court Rules The same court recently ruled that the risk of colliding with an underage drinker on a snowboard was not an inherent risk of downhill skiing. That court also held that a horse bite victim is required to show that a stallion had "vicious propensities" to recover for injuries. Traveling Keys The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled in a case against Ugly Duckling Car Sales, that the car dealership did not breach any legal duty to a stranger when the dealership left car keys on the seat of a car which was stolen from the lot, and later struck the stranger. |
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