Taxation-Federal Estate and Gift Commons^™

The Perpetual Business Purpose Trust: The Business Planning Vehicle For The Future, Starting Now, Alexander A. Bove Jr., Melissa Langa

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Maintaining Client Privacy In An Increasingly Public World, Mel M. Justak, Anne-Marie Rhodes

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Of Racial Inequities And Estate Planning, Reetu Pepoff

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Incentivizing Wills Through Tax, Margaret Ryznar

ACTEC Law Journal

There have been recent calls to loosen will formalities in order to allow more people to execute wills, the importance of which has been highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction of necessary will formalities can be successful in expanding the use of wills, as can potential tax incentives for creation of wills, such as a tax credit. However, there are numerous advantages to using tax to initiate change, as considered in this Article.

Silent Trusts Are Trending: Will They Hold Trustees To Account?, Kent D. Schenkel

ACTEC Law Journal

A common intuition is that easy money creates a disincentive to efforts for personal success. Many trust settlors seem to embrace this view but still wish to provide generously for their families. Enter the so-called “silent trust,” which seeks to moderate the disincentive effect by way of trust provisions that limit or waive notice and disclosure requirements to beneficiaries.

But a fundamental tension plagues these trusts. Beneficiaries need basic information about a trust in order to hold trustees to account. Consequently, traditional trust law provides limits on the degree to which trustees can be silent as respects a beneficiary’s right …

A Sale To A Bidit Should Work As Well As A Sale To An Idit, Michael D. Mulligan

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Truth, Transparency, And The Right Of Privacy, Duncan E. Osborne

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Investing In And For The Future: Esg Investing For Trust Assets Under The Prudent Investor Rule, Jane Gorham Ditelberg

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Cross-Border Attestation And Interjurisdictional Wills, Richard F. Storrow

ACTEC Law Journal

After nearly two years of difficult effort to contain the coronavirus outbreak, remoteness is firmly embedded in the American psyche. Throughout the country, emergency orders permitting will execution and attestation to be conducted by simultaneous audio-visual transmission have allowed estate planning to proceed. There are currently bills in some state legislatures to make permanent the temporary emergency measures adopted during the pandemic. Remote execution and attestation may be here to stay, even in a world where electronic wills remain rare. This article addresses what is likely to become a more familiar manner of will execution in a post-pandemic world and …

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Uniform Probate Code's New Intestacy And Class Gift Provisions, Mary Louise Fellows, Thomas P. Gallanis

ACTEC Law Journal

Law and society inextricably link family and wealth transmission. An individual’s right to inherit from an intestate decedent depends on whether the individual has a legally recognized familial relationship to the decedent. Similarly, when a class gift in a donative document uses a term of relationship to identify the class members, an individual’s right to share in the gift depends on the legal recognition of the relationship. The enactment of the 2017 Uniform Parentage Act required a revision of the intestacy and class gift provisions of the Uniform Probate Code.

We were the reporters, or principal drafters, of the UPC …

Dead Men (And Women) Should Tell Tales: Narrative, Intent, And The Construction Of Wills, Karen J. Sneddon

ACTEC Law Journal

Intent is a foundational principle that is referenced in many varied aspects of succession. This article will focus on the role of intent in will construction proceedings where intent is referred to as the “touchstone” and “pole star.” When an issue arises as to the meaning of a provision in a will admitted to probate, the probate court must undertake a construction proceeding. This article posits that a will naturally forms a narrative that courts use when interpreting and construing the language of the will. This natural narrative form and tendency for courts to reference narrative during construction proceedings can …

The Failures And The Future Of Private Foundation Governance, Zoey F. Orol

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Why A Federal Wealth Tax Is Constitutional, Ari Glogower, David Gamage, Kitty Richards

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The 2020 Democratic presidential primaries brought national attention to a new direction for the tax system: a federal wealth tax for the wealthiest taxpayers. During their campaigns, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) both introduced proposals to tax the wealth of multimillionaires and billionaires, and to use the revenue for public investments, including in health care and education. These reforms generated broad public support—even among many Republicans—and broadened the conversation over the future of progressive tax reform.

A well-designed, high-end wealth tax can level the playing field in an unequal society and promote shared economic prosperity.

Critics have …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Marital Versus Nonmarital Entitlements, Raymond C. O'Brien

ACTEC Law Journal

The percentage of adult couples living in intimate nonmarital cohabitation continues to increase. The period of cohabitation is most often for a short period of time and entered into for several reasons. But for a small percentage of these and an increasing percentage of longer-term cohabitants, dissolution during life or at death often results in the unjust enrichment of one party. This Article examines methods of redress. In piecemeal fashion, a variety of states enforce nonmarital agreements, written and oral, during lifetime, while some enforce equitable remedies. Very few states enforce contract or equity remedies at death.

The paucity of …

Gifts In Contemplation Of Death: Why Can't Section 2035 Simply Die?, Stephanie J. Willbanks

ACTEC Law Journal

Income and wealth inequality has become a popular topic. There are a myriad of ways to reduce such inequality utilizing the tax system, either the income tax or the transfer taxes. Revitalizing the estate tax by reducing the exemption amount and adjusting the rate structure would reduce inequality. Much has been written about the viability of the estate tax and possible alternatives. This article does not revisit that analysis. Instead, it assumes that the estate tax will remain a viable component of the overall tax system. It analyzes one small segment of the estate tax – §2035 – and argues …

The Rich, Lucas A. Santos

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

The rise of the super rich dramatically rose in the 1980’s. The once dominant oil and gas sector was taken over by finance and technology overall. We are able to see a rise of these super rich, or the one percent, and even how quickly they were able to recover from the 2008 Recession. Now, the one percent are making continuous substantial gains in a current world, where a pandemic has struck and many are struggling. I talk about the use of public policy in order to regain this economic gap between the one percent and the rest of the …

Enough Is As Good As A Feast, Noah C. Chauvin

Seattle University Law Review

Ipse Dixit, the podcast on legal scholarship, provides a valuable service to the legal community and particularly to the legal academy. The podcast’s hosts skillfully interview guests about their legal and law-related scholarship, helping those guests communicate their ideas clearly and concisely. In this review essay, I argue that Ipse Dixit has made a major contribution to legal scholarship by demonstrating in its interview episodes that law review articles are neither the only nor the best way of communicating scholarly ideas. This contribution should be considered “scholarship,” because one of the primary goals of scholarship is to communicate new ideas.

Mandatory Tax Penalty Insurance, Michael Abramowicz

Indiana Law Journal

In a mandatory tax penalty insurance regime, taxpayers would be required to find insurers to certify portions of their tax returns. A certifying insurer would be subject to a governmental auditing regime insurers of randomly selected filings would pay an amount equal to the inverse of the selection probability multiplied by the underpayment, or they would receive money from the government in the case of overpayment. The insurers function as private auditors with no incentive to underestimate their customers' tax liability. Such a regime will consume real resources, ultimately paid by taxpayers, and thus should not be imposed universally. But …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

A Safe Harbor In The Medicaid Adventure: Lady Bird And Transfer On Death Deeds, Gerry W. Beyer

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Et Tu Counselor? Fiduciary's Attorneys' Ethical Duty To The Vulnerable, Richard J. Goralewicz

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Changing Demographics, Elder Law, And Trusts And Estates, Naomi Cahn

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Trusts In Guardianship: Using "Family Freeze" Agreements To Resolve Disputes, Gerard G. Brew

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Serving The Greater Good: Ethical Considerations In Representation Of The Older Population, Jeffrey L. Carson, Brook H. Lester

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Medical And Legal Implications Of Impaired Financial Capacity In Aging And Dementia, Edmund W. Granski Jr., Milap A. Nowrangi

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.