The late 'Sopranos' star's will is 'a disaster' that could see over $30 million of his estimated $70 million estate go to the government, top estate lawyer William Zabel told the Daily News.
The taxman is coming after James Gandolfini's heirs.HT: TaxProf Blog
The late "Sopranos" star's will is "a disaster" that could see over $30 million of his estimated $70 million estate go to the government, a top estate lawyer told the Daily News.
"It's a nightmare from a tax standpoint," said William Zabel, who reviewed the document at The News' request.
The 51-year-old's "big mistake" was leaving 80% of his estate to his sisters and his 9-month-old daughter, Zabel said.
That made 80% of the estate subject to "death taxes" of about 55%, and the bill is due in nine months, Zabel said.
That means his family will have to start selling off his property and liquidating his assets soon in order to pay the tab, since it's unlikely the actor had tens of millions of dollars in cash on hand.
"The government doesn't accept the fact that it's difficult to come up with the money you owe," said the lawyer, who's represented the likes of billionaire George Soros and "King of All Media" Howard Stern.
"They can get an extension of time to pay the entire amount, but they're going to have pay a substantial amount in nine months."
The 20 percent of the estate that Gandolfini left to wife Deborah Lin isn't directly subject to the death tax, but even she'll take a big hit, Zabel said.
The will calls for the shares to be divvied up after all the taxes are paid, which means Lin will get 20% of the $40 million left after taxes, instead of 20% of $70 million....MORE
