New Estate Tax Legislation Introduced
On Nov. 4, 2009, Representative McNerny (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4015, which would "amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain estate tax provisions and restore and increase the estate tax deduction for certain family-owned business interests." Specifically, the...

The History of the LLC and Cases Questioning Its Asset Protection
William S. Forsberg (partner, Leonard Street and Deinard) has published his article entitled Asset Protection and the Limited Liability Company: Not the Panacea of Creditor Protection That You Might Think!, Prob. & Prop., Nov./Dec. 2009, at 39. A summary of...

Connecticut Doctors Challenge Assisted Suicide Statute
Two doctors in Connecticut have filed a lawsuit challenging the state's assisted suicide statute: The lawsuit seeks the legal answer to whether doctor-aided death constitutes assisted suicide. State law says a person is guilty of second-degree manslaughter if "he intentionally...

Trustee Defenses Against Beneficiary Claims
Kevin J. Parker (partner, Snell & Wilmer L.L.P.) has published his article entitled Trustee Defenses: Statute of Limitations, Laches, Self-Executing Accounting Release Provisions, and Exculpatory Clauses, Prob. & Prop., Nov./Dec. 2009, at 53. An abstract of the article is below:...

Rules for Tax Return Preparers
Brian C. Bernhardt (attorney, North Carolina) has recently published his article entitled Tax Return Preparer Penalties: The New Rules of Code Sec. 6694, Part 2, Prob. & Prop., Sept./Oct. 2009, at 23. For a summary of this article, please see...