Law Commons^™

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Professional Responsibility, James M. Mccauley, Michael L. Rigsby

University of Richmond Law Review

On October 18, 1996, the Virginia State Bar Council (Council) approved a change in the format of the Code of Professional Responsibility (Code) from canons, disciplinary rules, and ethical considerations to the Model Rules of the American Bar Association (Model Rules). The first twenty-one rules, Model Rules 1.1 through 2.5, were approved in substance with some amendments at the Council's meeting on June 19, 1997. This approval represents approximately one-third of the conversion from the Code to the Model Rules. The second installment of the conversion was approved by Council at its October 1997 meeting. Notwithstanding Council's approval of this …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Health Care Law, Steven D. Gravely

University of Richmond Law Review

The health care industry continued its dynamic course in late 1991 and early 1992. Feeding the frenzy of activity were the Virginia General Assembly and the judiciary. This article focuses on key legislative, regulatory, and judicial events of the past year, and examines their effect on health care in Virginia.

The Like-Kind Exchange Of Partnership Interests Under Irc Section 1031(A)(2)(D): An Historical Analysis Of Alternative Approaches, Vincent John Piazza

University of Richmond Law Review

Before the Tax Reform Act of 1984, general partnership interests were considered like-kind property which could be exchanged tax-free under Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") section 1031(a). Prior to 1984, the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") had tried unsuccessfully to convince the courts that the parenthetical clause of section 1031(a), which excludes certain exchanges of interests from the definition of like-kind property, encompassed all types of equity interests. Since the IRC did not specifically exclude partnership interests, judges were very reluctant to adopt the IRS's over-expansive reading of the statute. After making very little headway with the courts, the IRS and treasury …

Annual Survey Of Virginia Law: Wills, Trusts, And Estates, J. Rodney Johnson

University of Richmond Law Review

The 1990 session of the General Assembly enacted legislation dealing with wills, trusts, and estates that added, amended, or repealed a number of sections of the Code of Virginia (the "Code"). In addition to this legislation, there were fifteen cases from the Supreme Court of Virginia, in the year ending June 1, 1990, which involved issues of interest to both the general practitioner and the specialist in wills, trusts, and estates. This article analyzes each of these legislative and judicial developments.

The Effect Of The Tax Reform Act Of 1984 On Alimony And Transfers Of Property Incident To Divorce, J. Thomas O'Brien Jr.

University of Richmond Law Review

The Tax Reform Act of 1984 made substantial changes affecting the tax consequences of divorce. This comment will focus on the changes made in the tax treatment of transfers of property incident to divorce, in the definitional requirements of alimony and separate maintenance, and on the changes affecting "alimony" trusts and other forms of property. It will then analyze these changes by contrasting them, in light of congressional intent, with their pre-Tax Act development and treatment and attempt to draw some conclusions with respect to their effectiveness. Other changes affecting domestic relations are not within the scope of this comment.

Title Examination In Virginia, W. Wade Berryhill

University of Richmond Law Review

The purpose of this article is to provide an understanding of the basic procedures of title examination. The emphasis is on the mechanics and practical considerations involved in a search of title. Although the focus of any legal work is "the law," this article is not meant to be a legal treatise. It is rather a practical "how to" guide. The author hopes, however, that this writing will not only acquaint the reader with the basic techniques of title examination but will also assist the title examiner in solving the related problems which arise when some of the more common …

The Taxation Of Distributions From Qualified Employee Benefit Plans, Louis A. Mezzullo

University of Richmond Law Review

One of the most confusing aspects of employee benefit plans is the federal tax treatment of distributions to the participants of these plans and to the beneficiaries of deceased participants. The issues frequently involve not only income taxation, but estate and gift taxation as well. While the average practitioner may never be called upon to draft a pension or profit-sharing plan, he may be asked by his client about the consequences of the various alternative methods

of receiving a benefit from such a plan. Many employee benefit plans, particularly profit-sharing plans, offer a participant upon his retirement from the plan …

The "Elaborate Interweaving Of Jurisdiction:" Labor And Tax Administration And Enforcement Of Erisa And Beyond, John W. Lee

University of Richmond Law Review

On Labor Day 1974, President Ford signed into law~the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, commonly known by its acronym ERISA. The genesis of ERISA is found in a study released in 1965 by the President's Committee on Corporate Pension Fund and Other Private Retirement and Welfare Programs, titled "Public Policy and Private Pension Programs-A Report to the President on Private Employee Retirement Plans." The Committee had been established in 1962 by President Kennedy in recognition of the growth of the pension industry and the need for reform. The report made recommendations as to vesting; funding; termination insurance and …

Charitable Remainder Trusts: Some Considerations To Draftsmanship, Harold G. Wren

University of Richmond Law Review

The Tax Reform Act of 1969 limited the charitable deduction for remainder interests for the purposes of income, estate and gift taxes to three specific forms: the annuity trust, the unitrust, or a gift to a pooled-income fund. This article will not deal with the details of a pooled-income fund, commonly established by a public charity to make it possible for a donor of a relatively small gift to do what we shall discover the wealthy donor can do by way of a charitable remainder trust. Since estate planners are primarily concerned with the drafting of trusts for donors of …

Administrative Practice Before Federal Agencies, William H. Sager, Leslie S. Shapiro

University of Richmond Law Review

There exist more than forty federal executive and administrative agencies before which lawyers (and in many cases, laymen) may practice and serve the interests of clients. The complexities of our society, the specializations which are a by-product of a complex industrial state, and the persistent growth of government's bureaucracy, point up the continuing importance of practice before federal administrative agencies.

Lawyers And The Professional Association Act, Ellsworth Wiltshire

University of Richmond Law Review

The Professional Association Act passed by the recent Gen- eral Assembly of Virginia becomes effective as Chapter 277 of the Acts of 1962 on June 29, 1962. It permits three or more individuals authorized to practice in Virginia any one of the following named professions to form an association, which will be a legal entity separate from the associates comprising it: "architecture, professional engineering, land surveying, certified public accounting, dentistry, optometry, practice of the healing arts, and veterinary medicine, surgery and law".