George Steinbrenner was at least the third billionaire to have died in 2010. He was the most famous due to his ownership of the New York Yankees baseball team. As virtually everyone knows by now, there is not any estate tax for those dying in 2010, or so we think.

Some senators actually are proposing that there be a retroactive estate tax. However, right now everything is up in the air. As the way things stand, the Steinbrenner family is the beneficiary.

However, if the family decides at some point to sell the Yankees, there will be a hefty capital gains tax to pay. Mr. Steinbrenner’s basis in the Yankees parent company is approximately $10 million dollars and his ownership share is 55% of approximately $1.6 billion dollars. On the other hand, some would argue that from a purely mathematical point of view, now would be a great time for the family to sell the Yankees because the capital gains tax rate is as low as it is ever going to be!

Most people think that the Steinbrenners will continue to own the Yankees and put off dealing with estate taxes and capital gains taxes for a number of years.

While the vast majority of people do not have these issues to contend with, it does make sense to understand the tax implications of your estate. Consulting an estate planning attorney is usually a very good thing. Estate planning lawyers deal with these issues daily.