Taxation-Federal Estate and Gift Commons^™

The Life And Death Of The Ipswich Grammar School Trust: Is Enduring Dead Hand Control Possible?, Ronald Chester

ACTEC Law Journal

This article examines the reasons for the 360-year longevity of the Ipswich (Mass.) Grammar School trust, which was in force from 1652 to 2012, the longest-running charitable trust in American history. It concludes that the cornerstone of the trust’s longevity was the emphasis of its major donor, the Puritan William Paine, on open-handed contribution to the community, rather than dead hand control. A wealthy merchant and landowner and friend of Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop and his son, Paine imbued his commercial activities with a profound civic-mindedness.

A 1647 law required the establishment of a grammar school by any …

Protecting Your Clients' Assets From Their Future Ex-Sons And Daughters-In-Law: The Impact Of Evolving Trust Laws On Alimony Awards, Christopher J. Roman

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

California Income Taxation Of Trusts And Estates, Richard S. Kinyon, Kim Marois, Sonja K. Johnson

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Coming Ashore - Planning For Year 2017 Offshore Deferred Compensation Arrangements: Using Clats, Ppli And Preferred Partnerships And Consideration Of The Charitable Partial Interest Rules, N. Todd Angkatavanich, Jonathan G. Blattmachr, James R. Brockway

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Federal Tax Treatment Of Disclaimers Of Future Interests: A Call For Reform, Trent S. Kiziah

ACTEC Law Journal

Federal tax laws essentially preclude individuals with a future interest from disclaiming because the time in which a qualified disclaimer can be executed may pass before the person becomes aware of the interest and long before the interest becomes possessory and fixed as to quality and quantity. This article examines the state of the law prior to enactment of these limiting tax provisions, examines the call for reform by commentators, and examines the legislative history resulting in the current law. The author asserts Congress made an informed decision albeit a poor one. The author recommends Congress revisit the issue and …

The Life And Death Of John J. Stevens, Esq., As A Member Of The Legal Profession, Max Gutierrez Jr.

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

How To Accomplish A Successful Tax-Free Pension Plan Rollover, Steven T. Graham

Pepperdine Law Review

Advising a client how to accomplish a tax-free rollover from one pension plan to another has been an area of confusion for the general practitioner. In order to end this confusion the author examines recent statutory amendments, Internal Revenue Service rulings and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The author then outlines, in conjunction with the recent changes in the law, potential pension plan rollover scenarios that can aid the client. After a thorough discussion of the available rollovers and the benefits and drawbacks of each, the author concludes with a chart designed to provide quick identification of the most …

Recent Legislative Changes As To The Reporting And Payment Of The Gift Tax: A Step Toward Tax Simplification, Harry F. Byrd Jr.

Pepperdine Law Review

The overly complex nature of the nation's tax laws has spurred congressional action to simplify the tax code. United States Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr. has demonstrated his commitment toward this goal by his recent introduction of the Annual Gift Tax Return Act. This measure, enacted as part of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, provides a return to the system of annual gift tax reporting. More significantly, it demonstrates that simplification of the tax laws can be achieved without sacrificing other goals, and without additional costs to the taxpayer.

Wimmer Wins Flp Annual Exclusions, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

In Wimmer, the Tax Court held that the income stream from a taxpayer’s gifts of family limited partnership interests was eligible for the annual exclusion. By comparing the income interest in the partnership’s dividend paying marketable securities to the income interest in a trust, the court made Wimmer a winner. But does the opinion logically lead to that conclusion?

It Pays To Give It Away - Sometimes: Inter Vivos Charitable Remainder Unitrusts In Estate Planning, Robert G. Popovich

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rethinking The Penalty For The Failure To File Gift Tax Returns, Jay A. Soled, Paul L. Caron, Charles Davenport, Richard L. Schmalbeck

Faculty Scholarship

In this article, the authors argue that Congress must reform the penalty structure associated with the failure to file gift tax returns if it wants to maintain the integrity of the transfer tax system.

Death, Taxes, And Property (Rights): Nozick, Libertarianism, And The Estate Tax, Jennifer Bird-Pollan

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

The primary purpose of this Article is to dispute the moral claims to post-death property rights made by libertarians when they argue against the estate tax. As I will show later in this Article, my argument does not necessarily entail enacting an estate tax, nor does it require a particular level of tax. I am merely trying to demonstrate that those who argue that the estate tax is an immoral violation of the private property rights of the deceased are mistaken. This is not to say that the estate of the deceased should necessarily pass to the government. It is …

Who Killed The Rule Against Perpetuities?, Grayson M.P. Mccouch

UF Law Faculty Publications

This article examines the relationship between the federal wealth transfer taxes and the rule against perpetuities. The decline of the RAP is often attributed primarily to the GST tax amendments enacted in 1986. However, while perpetual trusts were available long before 1986, their estate tax avoidance possibilities were not widely used. Even after 1986, simple repeal of the RAP leaves perpetual trusts exposed to potential estate taxation. In addition, settlors should consider non-tax considerations in assessing the attractions of perpetual trusts.

The Creeping Federalization Of Wealth-Transfer Law, Lawrence W. Waggoner

Law & Economics Working Papers

This paper, titled “The Creeping Federalization of Wealth-Transfer Law,” is prepared for a symposium on the role of federal law in private wealth transfer. The symposium is to be held at Vanderbilt University Law School on February 21, 2014, and is sponsored by the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Foundation. Symposium papers will be published in volume 66 of the Vanderbilt Law Review (Nov. 2014 issue).

This paper surveys areas of federalization of wealth-transfer law. Federal authorities have little experience in making law that governs wealth transfers, because that function is traditionally within the province of state law. …

Does “Defalcation” By A Fiduciary, Rendering A Debt Nondischargeable, Include Unknowing Breach Of The Duty Of Loyalty? (Bullock V. Bank Champaign, N.A.), Marshall E. Tracht

Other Publications

CASE AT A GLANCE

Petitioner Randy Curtis Bullock, trustee of a family trust, loaned trust funds to himself, jointly with his mother, for business purposes. These loans were all repaid. A state court entered judgment against him for breach of fiduciary duty, ordering that profits from the loaned moneys be paid to the trust. The Supreme Court must decide whether Bullock’s liability for self-dealing, without conscious misbehavior, is nondischargeable as a “defalcation while acting in a fiduciary capacity.

Income And Substitution Effects Of Estate Taxation, James R. Hines Jr.

Articles

This paper evaluates the effect of estate taxes on labor supply. The analysis decomposes the effect of estate taxation into the substitution effect of relative price changes and the two income effects for which the estate tax is responsible. These two income effects arise from tax burdens on those who leave estates plus tax burdens on those who receive them. Despite the double income burden of the estate tax, existing empirical evidence suggests that the net effect of estate taxation on aggregate labor supply is uncertain.

Setting The Statute Of Limitations In United States V. Home Concrete & Supply, Llc, 132 S. Ct. 1836 (2012), Joan I. Oppenheimer

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

An Objective View Of Insurance: Advanced Life Insurance Planning Case Studies (Slides), Thomas J. Pauloski

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

When Estate Planning Gets Mugged By Reality: A Cautionary Tale Of Our Times (Slides), Neil L. Rose, Edith E. Weiss

William & Mary Annual Tax Conference

No abstract provided.

The Case For The Retention Of The State Death Tax Credit In The Federal Transfer Tax Scheme: "Just Say No" To A Deduction, John M. Janiga, Louis S. Harrison

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Crummey Trusts: An Exploitation Of The Annual Exclusion, Dora Arash

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Not All Defined Value Clauses Are Equal, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

Defined value clauses used to value nonmarketable family limited partnership (FLP) interests create valuation distortions and other public policy issues. This paper describes these abuses and proposes the employment of restrictions similar to those applied to pecuniary formula marital deduction clauses.

The article explains how pecuniary formula marital deduction provisions created valuation distortions by allowing for undervaluation of the marital share that were remedied by the IRS’s Rev. Proc. 64-19 and the enactment of section 2056(b)(10). The article analyzes recent case law expanding the use of defined value clauses into the FLP area and criticizes the courts for not applying …

Front Matter

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Can State Law Remedies Revive Statutes Stricken By Erisa's Preemption Provision?, Justin A. Kesselman

ACTEC Law Journal

Since the United State Supreme Court's holding in Egelhoff that ERISA preempts state law revocation-on-divorce statutes, courts and legal scholars have attempted to fashion a way to apply the policies of these statutes to effect the presumed intent of an employee not to provide retirement plan benefits to a former spouse. This paper analyzes those efforts and contrasts the statutory remedy suggested in the Uniform Probate Code with the common law remedy of imposing a constructive trust on the recipient of those benefits. In this author's view, the constructive trust is the sounder approach, because it preserves the presumption embedded …

Sex Post Facto: Advising Clients Regarding Posthumous Conception, Benjamin C. Carpenter

ACTEC Law Journal

Apart from tax considerations, trust and estate law is often viewed by outsiders as a somewhat dusty area of the law. However, few examples better illustrate the intersection of law and technology than posthumous conception and estate law. While judges, legislators, and commentators have tackled some of the issues created by posthumous conception, few estate planning lawyers discuss the issue with their clients. Such hesitance has been understandable, given the moral sensitivities involved with posthumous conception and the relatively small likelihood that it will affect any one particular client. However, that likelihood is becoming greater with each passing year, and, …

Estate Planning Issues With Intra-Family Loans And Notes, Stephen R. Akers, Philip J. Hayes

ACTEC Law Journal

Intra-family loans are quite prevalent, and can present significant estate planning opportunities. Loans among family members may seem simple, but they involve numerous complexities. The article addresses many of the complexities including estate, gift and income tax consequences of loans to both the lenders and borrowers in a wide variety of situations -- from simple cash loans to sophisticated sale transactions.

Anatomy Of An Anomaly: How The Qdot Credit Provisions Defy Logic And The Principles Of The Marital And Charitable Deductions, Edward A. Mccoyd, Jon Perrelle

ACTEC Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Elaine Hightower Gagliardi On Treasury Transforms The Portability Election: Making The Dsue Amount A Reliable Planning Tool, Elaine H. Gagliardi

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

With the issuance of temporary regulations, Treasury pulls back the cloak of uncertainty and reveals a portability election that proves to be relatively dependable and a useful planning tool. The temporary portability regulations,1 issued June 15, 2012, remove the “now you see it, now you don’t”2 quality of the deceased spousal unused exclusion (“DSUE”) amount as enacted by Congress. With a sleight of hand, Treasury rewrites the plain wording of the statute to eliminate uncertainty. The temporary regulations provide a clear path for avoiding loss of the DSUE amount on remarriage. The regulations allow donors to make gifts without fear …

Facade Easement: Inexpert Valuation, Wendy G. Gerzog

All Faculty Scholarship

The article discusses the recent Dunlap decision, which involved facade easement transfers to the National Architectural Trust, a qualified charity that preserves building easements across the country, although most are in New York City. Although allowing a deduction for their cash contributions to NAT to enforce the easement and not finding any penalties applicable, the Tax Court held that despite two valuation reports written by accepted valuation experts, the taxpayers had not established any value for their easement.