SHIFTING THE PARADIGM: THE ESTATE PLANNER’S 2020 PLAYBOOK

SHIFTING THE PARADIGM:  THE ESTATE PLANNER’S 2020 PLAYBOOK

Sam Donaldson, Professor of Law - Georgia State University

Hour 1:  CONTEMPORARY ESTATE PLANNING PARADIGMS FOR MARRIED COUPLES

Recent changes in the federal tax laws have fundamentally changed estate planning strategies for married couples. This session presents separate planning templates suitable for couples with small, medium, and large estates. Specific topics addressed include the portability election, maximizing the use of the income tax step-up in basis, and the role of disclaimer planning.

Hour 2:  WHAT THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IN ESTATE PLANNING

In light of recent developments, some estate planning strategies have become especially popular. This presentation explains and evaluates several “hot” planning ideas, including spousal lifetime access trusts, charitable remainder trusts as beneficiaries of retirement accounts, ultra-long-term GRATs, and incomplete gift non-grantor trusts.

Hour 3:  DEALING WITH UNCLE SAM, EVERYONE’S LEAST FAVORITE RELATIVE IN THE FAMILY BUSINESS

Estate planners must recognize the tax traps and opportunities that accompany the client with a closely-held business. This session will review the federal income tax issues and planning strategies for C corporations, S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies, and how they affect contemporary estate planning techniques.  He’ll be injecting a little more here re: income tax aspects and the significant transfer tax advantages etc.

Hour 4: UNWINDING ESTATE PLANS BECAUSE OF CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES

Stuff happens. An estate plan that looked good ten years ago may not be good today, whether because of new laws or new situations. This presentation covers several strategies for “unwinding” one or more of the techniques implemented as part of a prior estate plan.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

EDUCATION:

LL.M., in Taxation University of Florida College of Law

J.D. Magna Cum Laude, University of Arizona College of Law

B.A. with Highest Honors, Oregon State University

Specializations - Federal Taxation and Estate Planning

BIOGRAPHY:

Prior to joining GSU Law in 2012, Professor Donaldson was on the faculty at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle for 13 years. During his tenure at the University of Washington, he was a five-time recipient of the Philip A. Trautman Professor of the Year award from the School of Law’s Student Bar Association. Professor Donaldson served for two years as Associate Dean for Academic Administration and for six years as the Director of the law school’s Graduate Program in Taxation.

Professor Donaldson teaches a number of tax and estate planning courses, as well as courses in the areas of property, commercial law and professional responsibility. He is a nationally recognized speaker on federal taxation and estate planning at professional conferences and continuing education seminars.

Professor Donaldson is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the Bar in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Among his scholarly works, he is a co-author of the popular West casebook, Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach, and a co-author of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning treatise published by Wolters Kluwer.

Professor Donaldson has served as the Harry R. Horrow Visiting Professor of International Law at Northwestern University and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

An amateur crossword constructor, Professor Donaldson’s puzzles have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other outlets.