Toward the end of 2012, you could not turn on your television without hearing about the so called "Fiscal Cliff." As with all things, the media beat this dead horse to an everliving pulp. Anyone that works with estate planning issues was curious what Congress would do about the Federal Estate and Gift tax exclusion amounts. Congress certainly kept us guessing right up until the new year.
If Congress would not have taken action, the Federal Estate and Gift tax exclusion amount was set to drop from 5 million (adjusted for inflation) to 1 million in 2013. Additionally, an estate would have paid a 55% tax on its assets over and above that amount. Thankfully, for those individuals with substantial assets, Congress did take action in an attempt to remedy this potentially expensive issue. This article linked below does a good job of summarizing the action Congress took, and I do not see much future in re-creating the wheel.
NOTE: This information is for the Federal Estate and Gift tax issues and makes no reference to the State Estate and Gift tax issues.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2013/01/02/after-the-fiscal-cliff-deal-estate-and-gift-tax-explained/
