In the classic Dickens’ tale A Christmas Carol, upon hearing the ghost of his old partner Marley lament his miserable fate, the yet unchanged Scrooge says: “But you were always a good man of business, Jacob . . . .” To which Marley’s ghost cried: “Business! Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

I am spending several days this week speaking at the IFA Crop College being held in Logan, Payson and Vernal, Utah. As part of that presentation I am discussing the impending “fiscal cliff” and how it impacts the “estate” or “death” tax.

We all remember from the story of Cinderella how she was given a great opportunity to attend the Prince’s ball, but that the magic would wear off at midnight. With just over two months left in 2012, this year appears to be the estate planning equivalent of the Cinderella story. Under current law, before the clock strikes midnight on December 31, every American can transfer up to $5.12 million free of federal gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax. If Congress does not act by the end of this year, the exemption in 2013 will be just $1 million. This exemption, when coupled with historic low interest rates and valuation discounts, mean families can transfer significant assets at little or no tax.