Friday, May 15, 2009 Press Coverage of Estate Planning This Week (May 15, 2009)The North Bay Business Journal (San Francisco, Calif.) included two articles focused on the status of the federal estate tax and treading carefully into new planning strategies. Teresa Norton and Kristen Ingersoll of Beyers Costin provide an introductory article on the federal estate tax, and proposed legislation to update it. See The State of the Estate Tax (May 11, 2009). Jay Silverstein of Moss Adams LLP writes that the current economy makes this a great time to transfer wealth to future generations, but any new strategy must mesh well with your existing personal and business planning. See Unique Estate Planning Opportunities: Proceed with Caution (May 11, 2009).
Mike Spector and Shelly Banjo of the Wall Street Journal caution that gift annuities can turn into empty promises if the charity seeks bankruptcy protection. Determining the financial health of a charity can be difficult because they are not rated in the same way that large insurance companies are. See Donors Find Gift Annuities Can Stop Giving (May 12, 2009).
Paula Span of the New York Times writes about whether philanthropist Brooke Astor was sufficiently competent when she made significant changes to her estate plan at age 101. What constitutes testamentary competency, the evidence used to demonstrate competency, and why assessing competency can be difficult are issues in a New York court case where Astor's son and his attorney are accused of swindling Astor out of tens of millions of dollars. See The Tricky Question of Competence (May 11, 2009). |