Estate Planning with the IRS in Mind

John W. Porter (Attorney at Law, Baker Botts LLP), Stephanie Loomis-Price (Attorney at Law, Baker Botts LLP), and Charles E. Hodges II (Attorney at Law, Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Martin), have recently published their article entitled Anticipating the Audit Call, Prob. & Prop., Jan./Feb. 2008, at 20.

Here is the conclusion to their article:

In sum, there are numerous protections of communications among advisors and between advisors and their clients. To best protect those communications from discovery or, if produced, from misinterpretation, it is important to understand the differences among those protections and to ensure that the communications are documented in the context of the broader goals of the client, such that both tax and nontax reasons for the transaction are clearly indicated. Keeping these protections in mind at all times can assist the estate planner in advising his or her client and in accomplishing the client’s goals. And, although privileges generally are thought to protect communications, anticipating that at some point the client might find it advantageous to waive these privileges and deliberately documenting communications that could be helpful in the event of a tax audit or dispute could be the linchpins for the client’s case.