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Introducing the ClearSight™ Investment Process –
SunTrust's revolutionary new Unified Managed Account platform with
overlay portfolio capabilities. With ClearSight, your clients benefit
from a coordinated portfolio that maximizes risk-adjusted returns,
adheres to client constraints, and minimizes tax liability.
Discover the advantages: http://www.suntrust.com/clearsight
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FEATURE STORY
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A Final Win for the Lawyer of
Erin Brockovich Fame
It’s a case with lessons for estate-planning attorneys
everywhere
By John Brooks, partner, and Erika A. Alley, associate,
Foley & Lardner, LLP, Chicago
Even after the lawyer of Erin Brockovich fame was dead, he
managed to win a case.
This win was against his widow (no less) and it’s an abject lesson for
lawyers everywhere in why, when drafting documents, they must define as
precisely as possible what is and is not permissible.
More specifically, Masry v. Masry, 2008 WL 4075309 (Sept. 4,
2008), is a warning of a potential pitfall in joint and single settlor
trusts. No matter what the state in which you practice, if you want
there to be only one way for a settlor to revoke or amend a trust,
you’d better make sure to draft the trust document so it explicitly
provides that the method for revocation or amendment set forth in the
trust document is exclusive.
You don’t want what happened to Joette Masry to happen to your
client.
To continue reading article click here.
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Take your estate planning practice to the next level with
the WealthDocs legal document drafting system. Learn how attorneys
throughout the country are increasing revenues while decreasing the time
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Bad Times for
Charities?
Giving will
continue but not quite as much—and certainly the form will change
By Anne Field, journalist, Pelham, N.Y.
Of all the many losers in the current financial maelstrom, charities
and charitable giving undoubtedly are near the top of the list. As the
assets of foundations and individual donors plummet and credit gets
ever-tighter, one inevitable victim will be the ability to make
charitable contributions. “We’re in for a very dry stretch,” says
Benjamin Pierce, executive director of the Vanguard Charitable Endowment
Program in Malvern, Pa.
The economic crisis also hit at a particularly vulnerable period—as
most charitable giving happens in the last quarter. “This is the
worst time of year for charities” to have donors so worried about
their finances, says trusts-and-estates specialist David Leibell, a
partner in the Stamford, Conn., office of Wiggin and Dana LLP.
And yet—past experience teaches philanthropy experts that American
giving still will continue. Since 1967, total contributions to charity
from individuals have increased every year, including during recessions,
albeit at slower rates, according to Giving USA Foundation, a Glenview,
Ill.—based research group. The one exception was 1987, when the drop
was slightly more than 1 percent. Philanthropy continued even during the
Great Depression, according to Robert Sharpe, Jr., president of the
Sharpe Group, a Memphis, Tenn., firm that provides support services to
not-for-profits.
The difference is, the experts note, that donors will give less now and,
maybe more later. Instead of lifetime gifting, for example, they’ll
tend more toward bequests.
To continue reading article click here.
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Financial Advisors, Are Your Wealthiest Clients Running
Out Of Time?
Many rich Americans have delayed estate planning because of estate tax
reform. But counting on a repeal is a dangerous strategy. “PLAN
2010” is a toolkit that clearly lays out what financial advisors
should discuss with their clients about estate taxes. Visit phoenixextramile.com/insight
insight for your toolkit today.
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Unbundling Trust Fees
What It Could Mean for Your Clients
A Trusts & Estates Podcast (sponsored by
SunTrust)
It looks like banks are going to be forced to unbundle the fees they
charge trust clients for investment management from the fees they charge
for administration. At least, that's essentially what's been considered
by the Internal Revenue Service in the proposed regulations on Internal
Revenue Code Section 67(e) that were issued in July of 2007.
But what does "unbundling of fees" mean? And what impact, if any, will
it have on your clients?
This podcast features three experts to help us really understand — and
prepare for this potential change:
• Acting as moderator for this discussion — and representing small
firm wealth management attorneys everywhere — is Louis A.
Harrison. Lou is a partner at a firm he created, Harrison & Held,
LLP, in Chicago.
• Barbara A. Sloan, a partner in New York's McLaughlin & Stern,
LLP, had principal responsibility for preparing ACTEC's comments that
were submitted to the IRS. That's the American College of Trust and
Estate Counsel, which essentially told the Service: "Go ahead and
require unbundling."
• Phoebe Papageorgiou speaks for the American Bankers
Association, which submitted comments arguing that the proposed rule
would impose significant and costly fiduciary and administrative burdens
on bank trust departments — for little benefit. Phoebe is senior
counsel for the ABA's Center for Securities, Trust & Investments.
To find out more about the podcast and listen to it, click here.
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