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Sick and Have a Chunk of Change? Duke Prof Says 15 Days Remain to Kill Yourself

By Eric Lipman

Last week we wrote about Paul Caron's declaration that John E. du Pont had won the "estate tax lottery" by being fortunate enough to pass before the New Year. Today, according to the ABA Journal (and, again, Caron's own Tax Prof Blog), we have another law professor -- Richard Schmalbeck of Duke (pictured, left) -- going on record as suggesting that, absent Congressional action, the imminent return of the "death tax" means that there will be blood between now and the time the big ball drops in Times Square in a couple of weeks. Let him tell you the details: The concern is with the people whose deaths would naturally occur in 2011, but whose death can be accelerated if the individual is so inclined. There may actually be a few cases of tax-inspired murder by the decedent?s heirs, but the legal consequences of murder are severe enough that it is unlikely to happen with any frequency. Rather, the concern is suicide. Many among the several thousand wealthy people who would die of natural causes in 2011 already know that that outcome is highly likely. They are the people suffering from stage four cancers, advanced congestive heart failure, and other...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on December 16, 2010 (boomark / email).