Report on Hofstra Estate Planning Program
The following report was written by Bridget Crawford (Professor of Law, Pace University School of Law) and is reproduced with her kind permission:
Yesterday I attended a program on “Estate Planning in 2011 and Beyond” sponsored by Hofstra Law School and held at the Princeton Club of New York. The program was moderated by Mitchell Gans (Hofstra). The panelists were Jonathan Blattmachr (formerly Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP), Bernard Krooks (Littman Krooks LLP), Carlyn McCaffrey (Weil, Gotschal & Manges LLP), Gideon Rothschild (Moses & Singer LLP) and Joshua Rubenstein (Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP). One of the speakers observed early in the program that “if you don’t know who these people are, you probably shouldn’t be here.” It’s true – the panelists are some of the leading voices in the field of estate planning. Here’s a quick run-down of the program.
Josh Rubenstein kicked off the program with a discussion of Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples: Detriment or Opportunity? It was a quick tour through some of the unique issues that unmarried couples face when using common estate planning techniques.
Gideon Rothschild covered asset protection planning, with a presentation entitled Asset Protection Planning – Keeping It All in the Family. His materials included a careful look at the state laws in the ten jurisdictions that afford spendthrift protection to a settlor’s interest in a self-settled discretionary trust.
Bernard Krooks focused on Elder Law and Special Needs Planning. This is a complex area that many sophisticated estate planning attorneys need to know more about, and Mr. Krooks’ slides and visual aides helped identify the salient issues for those in the field.
Carlyn McCaffery spoke on Formulaic Planning to Reduce Transfer Tax Risks. She covered five different types of formula clauses that may be used when valuation is a concern: (A) those that self- adjust the quantum of property transferred; (B) those that self- adjust the consideration received; (C)those that define a transfer by reference to the value of some larger interest; (D) those that allocate transferred property based on its value; and (E) those that fix consideration by reference to the value of the transferred property.
Jonathan Blattmachr closed the program with a look at the future of estate planning practice. He predicts that many future legal services will become available through computer-based systems and non-lawyers, such as “legal document assistants” as are available in California. His related article, “Looking Back and Looking Ahead – Preparing Your Practice for the Future: Do Not Get Behind the Change Curve,” 36 ACTEC J. 1 (2010) is worth a read by anyone interested in the impact of technology on law practice.
It was a very high-quality discussion. The audience included Hofstra alums and many practicing lawyers (with and without Hofstra affiliations). Kudos to Hofstra and Professor Gans for a great program.