Years ago, Tim Luckey's great-grandfather started a farm in Tennessee. When Luckey's grandfather and then his father inherited the farm, both paid inheritance tax. Someday Tim hopes to inherit the farm, and when he does, he will probably pay the tax again, as will his children, years down the road--all for the same 650 acres.
Brad Eiffert owns a lumberyard in Columbia, Mo. He pays $36,000 a year for a life-insurance policy just so his children can inherit the yard unencumbered and not have to borrow from savings--or even sell the business--just to pay the estate tax.
Stories like...