Estate and Gift Taxes 

Under current Illinois law, the state estate tax exemption for individuals who die in Illinois during 2009 is only $2,000,000 (as opposed to the federal estate tax exemption level of $3,500,000.) This causes an estate which is exempt from federal estate taxes to still have liability for state estate taxes. Legislation is pending in the Illinois Senate (HB 255)  to rectify this situation by allowing an Illinois QTIP election to avoid the imposition of estate tax on the death of the first spouse to die. A significant concerns is the impact on state revenue. The bill passes the House on March 24.

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