Oscar, aged 70, and Maggie, aged 60, are married and jointly own a personal residence valued at $3,800,000. Oscar also owns stocks valued at $4,700,000; an art collection valued at $1,400,000; a retirement account valued at $900,000 contributions entirely from the pretax income; $800,000 in cash; and $1,000,000 in miscellaneous assets. Oscar's will specifies that when he dies, his half of the personal residence will go to Maggie but that all his other assets will pass to his four children because Maggie has sufficient income from a trust fund she inherited from her grandfather. Oscar made no previous taxable gifts
a. What was Oscar's estate liability when he died in 2014?
b. Each of Oscars four children has three children (total of 12 grandchildren) If Oscar had begun transferring assets to his children and grandchildren in years 2010 through 2014, how much could he have removed in value from his estate over those five years through gift splitting and making annual transfers equal to the gift exclusion?