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CNN has reported that the Senate has failed at an attempt to reach a compromise on legislation to raise the limits on the estate tax after an earlier attempt at outright repeal of the tax also failed. Repeal of the estate tax would affect less than one percent of all estates of persons dying after…

Your faithful law blogger arrived home tonight to find our two family felines -visions of endless quantities of cat treats abounding in their heads– trying their best to read today’s issue of the New York Sun which features an article on pet trusts. While I was well-aware that pet trusts are legally recognized, effective…

The May 14th issue of the Stamford Advocate contains a cautionary story by Julie Jason about the perils of becoming a fiduciary. While you will really have to be incredibly unlucky to suffer the fate of Monsignor Bolduc’s executor, this article really underscores the need to act quickly to retain competent counsel and learn exactly…

It appears that Anna Nicole Smith’s recent Supreme Court victory may result in a flood of federal litigation of probate matters. My Florida friend and fellow law blogger Juan Antunez (Florida Probate Litigation. com) ruminates on this idea in his blog today and contemplates spending a lot more time in federal court in the future.
Continue Reading Will Anna Nicole Smith Case Cause a Stampede to Federal Court?

Earlier this year, I reported on the case of Lillian Glasser, a wealthy New Jersey widow who had become embroiled in a multi-state legal feud (Florida, Texas and New Jersey) to determine where she should live and who should serve as her guardian. An article in today’s New York Times by Tina Kelly reports that Ms Glasser has been allowed to return home to New Jersey, having expressed strong desires to be allowed to do so.
Continue Reading Liillian Glasser Returns Home to New Jersey to Await Outcome of Her Guardianship Proceeding

May promises to be the month that Senate Majority Leader Frist will attempt to marshall his minions to pass legislation eliminating the estate tax. If this were to come to pass, our nation’s wealthiest families would be the primary beneficiaries of the new law which would free them of billions of dollars of tax liabilities. Senator Frist’s own estate would save many millions of estate tax dollars (as, by the way, would Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s estate).
Continue Reading Battle on Estate Tax Nears in Senate

Estate tax confusion is the subject of an article posted on April 22 by Clark Allison in the California Estate and Business Blog. The uncertainty which has beset estate planning by the current legislation in place is seen in context with the issues surrounding the future of the estate tax in Congress. This ongoing…

The sixth annual National Aging and Law Conference will be held from April 20 to April 23 at the Double Tree Hotel in Crystal City, Arlington Va. This will be a forum for a broad spectrum of elder law and elder care advocates sponsored by AARP together with a number of other advocacy organizations .…