Ethics Archive
Managing CLAT Investments
Charitable lead annuity trusts (CLATs) have received considerable attention recently, in light of current low interest rates. If structured correctly,...
Securities Laws and Estate Planning: Where Do the Roads Cross?
If you're an estate planner, you're probably not an expert in securities laws. But you may have clients who are of publicly held companies or who own...
Reputation Management in the Internet Age
Ripped from the headlines: CEO Faces $7 Million Judgment After Son's Driving Conviction in The Financial News Daily; Businesswoman Fires Nanny, Gets Slapped...
I Do, Act II
Estate planning in the context of second marriages is increasingly common and necessary in the evolving world in which we practice. Estate-planning techniques...
Successor Trustee Liability
In recent years, as the economy has faltered and banks have failed, merged and re-emerged, the fiduciary business with its annuity revenue stream seems...
Don't Be Foolish
In 2009, asset protection specialists watched a major Internal Revenue Service drive to flush out secret foreign bank accounts while a financial crisis...
To My Son, I Leave All My Passwords
The need to deal with passwords and digital property at death is coming at us faster than we may think...
Charities in Distress
Endowments are down without hopes of a quick recovery. How's a nonprofit to cope? A guide to governance and standards of care in troubled times...
Cleaning Up the Mess Madoff Made of IRAs
There are some measures taxpayers can take to soften the toll frauds have taken on their retirement plans...
What Form Should Your Private Foundation Take?
A quick guide to choosing between two possible entities: non-profit corporation and charitable trust...
How To Help Foundations From Being Madoffed
Follow the complex maze of federal and state laws to (relative) safety...
It's Personal
As estate-planning attorneys, we often find ourselves forced to act as family counselors for our clients despite our lack of formal training for this role...
Closely Held Business Interests And the Trustee's Duty to Diversify
It's well settled in American jurisprudence governing trust administration that the trustee's duties of due care and prudence...
As the Hearse Pulls Away
During the course of an estate's administration, a personal representative performs four basic functions: (1) marshals assets; (2) determines and raises...
Who'll Be Left Standing?
On Feb. 20, 2008, my husband, Peter Nesvold a newly minted partner at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. came home and said, I think my firm is going bankrupt....
Nailing the Lawyer For His Debtor-Client's Sins
So what exactly are fraud, fraudulent conveyance, deceit and fraudulent transfer and when are attorneys accountable? Being a trustee entails risk of personal...
DAF Kickbacks
An unethical practice is widespread among charities with donor-advised fund (DAF) programs. Financial advisors1 benefit financially from promoting and...
