In a typical case, the husband has founded a closely held business and is its driving force.

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Closely held business interests CAN qualify if the estate of the decedents owns 20% of more in ownership interests of the trade, business, or stock thereof and there are 45 or fewer owners of the trade or business.

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Richard Gliklich, a Harvard professor, runs a profitable, closely-held business called Outcome that develops such prospective databases for big drug companies and organizations like the American Heart Association.

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But the situation is trickier if the business is closely-held.

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Mr. Siegel says business at his closely held timeshare company is now strong, and that he plans to resume construction on Versailles, beginning with nearly 300 crates of marble for the home's exterior.. "I'm not motivated to sell it, " he says.

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Freedom Group is the closely held company that dominates the U.S. rifle business (and made the Bushmaster .223 rifle connected to Sandy Hook).

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He has co-authored numerous books, including Valuation of Closely Held Businesses: Tax and Legal Issues, Asset Protection Strategies: Tax and Legal Aspects, and Business Workout Strategies: Tax and Legal Aspects.

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