Permanent Relief and Unification. The Taxpayer Relief Act retains the 2010 Tax Act $5 million per person exclusion amount and indexes the exclusion for inflation going forward. However, the top tax rate is increased from 35 percent to 40 percent for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2012 and for taxable gifts (gifts above the exclusion amount). The Taxpayer Relief Act permanently extends unification and is effective for gifts made after December 31, 2012. Therefore, the estate, gift and generation skipping tax exclusion is $5 million per person, indexed for inflation.

Portability of unused exemption. The 2010 Tax Act allowed the executor of a deceased spouse’s estate to transfer any unused exemption to the surviving spouse for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2010 and before December 31 2012. The Taxpayer Relief Act makes permanent this provision and is effective for estates for decedents dying after December 31, 2012.

This is a very basic summary of the estate, gift and generation skipping provisions of the Taxpayer Relief Act . Although we referred to “permanent” relief, tax laws are often changed, but it appears that we will have a consistent set of rules to apply for the foreseeable future. If you have any specific questions as to how the Taxpayer Relief Act may affect your estate plan, please contact one of our estate planning attorneys at Dawda, Mann, Mulcahy & Sadler, PLC at 248-642-3700.

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Gilbert bought five downtown Detroit buildings at the end of 2012. That meant that at the end of last year, Gilbert owned 15 buildings in downtown. He also owns three parking garages and recently broke ground on a new office/retail development.

Dawda also said that he’s intrigued by Gilbert’s vision of Detroit as a center for young, intelligent and creative people.

“He wants to energize the city by attracting young people who will live and work downtown,” Dawda said. “He has a vision of bringing life back to the city by getting young people to come downtown, work there, stay there and live there.”

For this vision to work, Gilbert, though, can’t be the only person investing in downtown Detroit. Fortunately, there are enough positives in Detroit and its surrounding areas to, hopefully, encourage other investors.

Read the full article on REJournal.com’s blog >

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Through the Mentor Connection program, Jeff, an 18-year-old Royal Oak resident, has found comfort, information and fun with Todd Schafer, 45, of Beverly Hills, who befriended him in place of an absentee father.

“To have someone there who I can talk to without needing to spell everything out is important,” said Jeff, a high school senior whose last name is withheld from this story. “We really are really comfortable with each other … he’s like family I never had.”

For the past eight years, Jeff has been able to reach out past his friends at school and his family at home, where he lives with his grandmother, grandfather and mother.

Read the complete story >

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The 2013 “Best Law Firms” rankings, which are available online at http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com, showcase more than 10,000 different law firms in metropolitan or state rankings in one or more of 118 major legal practice areas.

Achieving a high ranking is a special distinction that signals a unique combination of excellence and breadth of expertise. In addition to its Detroit Tier 1 rankings for Real Estate Law, Dawda achieved Detroit Tier 2 rankings for three practice areas: Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, Environmental Law and Litigation – Environmental.

The U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” rankings are based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client and lawyer evaluations, peer review from leading attorneys in their field and review of additional information provided by law firms as part of the formal submission process.

About Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. For more than 30 years, the company has helped lawyers and clients find legal counsel in distant jurisdictions or unfamiliar specialties. The 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America includes 41,284 lawyers covering all 50 states and the District of Columbia and is based on more than 4.3 million detailed evaluations of lawyers by other lawyers. Best Lawyers also publishes peer-reviewed listings of lawyers in nearly 70 other countries, covering many of the world’s major legal markets. Best Lawyers lists are excerpted in a wide range of general interest, business and legal publications worldwide, reaching an audience of more than 17 million readers.

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Read the orignal article >>.

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They are Edward C. Dawda and William L. Rosin in the Business/Corporate practice area; Michael D. Mulcahy in the Real Estate practice area; Wayne S. Segal in the Banking practice area; Susan J. Sadler in the Environmental practice area; Suanne Tiberio Trimmer in the General Litigation practice area; John Mucha III in the Civil Litigation Defense practice area; and Theresa C. Joswick in the Employee Benefits/ERISA practice area.

Mr. Dawda also was recognized as one of the “Top 100 Michigan Super Lawyers 2012.” Ms. Trimmer was recognized among the “Top 50 Women Michigan Super Lawyers 2012”.

Additionally, five Dawda attorneys were included on the 2012 “Michigan Rising Stars 2011” list, a compilation of outstanding young Michigan lawyers. They are Alfredo Casab and Dana Kreis Glencer in the Real Estate practice area; Marc K. Salach in the Business/Corporate practice area; and Zachary J. Eskau and Frances Belzer Wilson in the Business Litigation practice area.

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Three Dawda member attorneys were recognized for the first time this year: firm co-founder Curtis Mann, in trusts and estates; Suanne Tiberio Trimmer, in employment law – management and in labor and employment litigation; and Tyler Tennent, in environmental law.

They join on the list firm co-founders Edward Dawda and Michael Mulcahy, both recognized in corporate law and in real estate law; firm co-founder Susan Sadler, in environmental law and both environmental and real estate litigation; Theresa Joswick, in employee benefits (ERISA) law; and William Rosin, in corporate law.

About Best Lawyers

Since it was first published in 1983, Best Lawyers has become universally regarded as the definitive guide to legal excellence. Because Best Lawyers is based on an exhaustive peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 leading attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas, and because lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed, inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Corporate Counsel magazine has called Best Lawyers “the most respected referral list of attorneys in practice.”

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LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell’s 2012 Top Ranked Law Firms list was featured in the Fortune Investor’s Guide, which was included in the magazine’s Dec. 26 issue. The list also appears on CNNMoney.com.

Martindale-Hubbell is a leading peer-rating service. This is the first time that Martindale-Hubbell has issued a law firm ranking. LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell reviewed more than 250,000 law firms in creating its list for the 2012 Fortune Investors’ Guide.

Martindale-Hubbell based its ratings on firms’ percentage of AV® Preeminent rated lawyers. Forty-two percent of Dawda’s attorneys have earned Martindale-Hubbell’s premier lawyer rating of AV.

According to Martindale-Hubbell, being named a Top Ranked Law Firm is a reflection of Dawda’s expertise, experience, integrity and overall professional excellence. Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Ratings recognize Dawda as a firm with exceptional legal abilities and professional ethical standards.

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Those honored are Edward C. Dawda, for real estate law; Daniel M. Halprin, for real estate law; Theresa C. Joswick, for employee benefits law; Curtis J. Mann, for tax law; Jeffrey D. Moss, for tax law and non-profits/charities law; Michael D. Mulcahy, for real estate law; Susan J. Sadler, for energy law and environmental law; Wayne S. Segal, for real estate law; and Tyler D. Tennent, for environmental law.

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The last Friday of each month is Casual for a Cause Day, when employees are allowed to wear jeans to work in exchange for a monetary donation to a sponsored charity. All employee contributions are matched by the Firm, resulting in significant contributions each month to organizations such as:

• United Cerebral Palsy
• Alzheimer’s Association
• Juvenile Diabetes Association
• Leader Dogs for the Blind
• Hospice of Southeast Michigan
• H.A.V.E.N.
• Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan
• ALS of Michigan, Inc.

Each holiday season the Firm adopts a family through Lighthouse Emergency Services. Money is donated and matched by the Firm. Employees then volunteer to shop for each family member to provide basic needs such as clothing, boots and other items from the family’s wish list.

With Firm support and matching funds, employees have also participated in walk-a-thons or bicycle marathons for:

• Michigan Humane Society
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
• American Cancer Society
• Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute
• Multiple Sclerosis Society

The Firm’s support for charitable causes goes beyond monetary contributions. Employees have volunteered their time by working at the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen and they have collected used cell phones for The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

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