I’m procrastinating (uh, I mean working) and came across this item about Rick Warren, pastor of the Saddleback megachurch in California and bestselling author. He says he “reverse tithes”—gives 90% of his income to his church.

If you’re single, not in great health, and are worth a lot but not a really huge lot, you could do your heirs a favor and die today or tomorrow. Sure, you may want to hang around to ring in the New Year but that could cost the beneficiaries of your will a chunk of change.

As 2009 draws to an icy conclusion, Tax Vox is pleased to announce its Third Annual Lump of Coal Award for the worst tax ideas of the year. So many choices. So little time.

Thanks to Senate gridlock, taxpayers engaged in estate planning will suffer whiplash over coming months as the federal estate tax disappears and reappears, possibly unexpectedly and retroactively. When the Senate refused to act Wednesday, it opened the door for the estate tax to disappear in two weeks--although no one knows for how long. Not only will the tax end, but the gift tax rate will fall to 35 percent. And, hardly noticed by most, only some assets inherited in 2010 will get “step-up” in basis.

It is almost 2010, and Congress is scrambling to figure out what it is going to do about the estate tax. In some perverse way, it’s fun to watch lawmakers dive into a mess largely of their own making. But as you do, don’t be distracted by the argument over the size of estates that should be excluded from tax, or whether the rules are extended for one year or two. The real argument is over the rate. That’s where the bucks are.