San Francisco Chronicle:  “Astonishing just about everyone in the estate planning world, Congress let the estate tax expire in 2010.  While people who support the death of the estate tax might be jumping for joy, its temporary expiration comes with side effects and unintended consequences that will perplex many people and leave some worse off than they were last year.  People who set up bypass trusts leaving some money to their kids and the rest to their spouse and those whose assets have more than $1.3 million worth of appreciation might want to consult their estate planner.  What's really bewildering is the possibility that Congress will impose an estate tax retroactively to Jan. 1 (which probably would be challenged in court) or do nothing and let the estate tax come back with a vengeance in 2011.”