Abstract
While the marital deduction provided for by federal estate tax law may not necessarily be the controlling factor in planning the will of a married person, it is certainly one of the most important factors because of the sheer magnitude of this deduction up to 50% of the adjusted gross estate. A direct consequence of this importance is reflected in the fact that the marital deduction has become the most written-about topic in the estate planning area. Most of what has been written about this subject can be divided into the two following categories: ( 1 ) an explanation of the operation of the marital deduction or one of its facets; or ( 2) a discussion of how to obtain the maximum marital deduction through the use of one of several competing formula clauses.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1975
Recommended Citation
J. Rodney Johnson, Drafting for the Optimum Marital Deduction, Va. B. Ass'n J. July 1975, at 3