The Atlanta Lawyer January/February 2014 | Page 34

section update Estate Planning & Probate Section Update By Robert E. Turner, Chair Turner Law, P.C. [email protected] M ichael Duffy of Goldman Sacs spoke at our Wednesday, December 13 breakfast meeting at the Buckhead Club. Mr. Duffy serves two roles at Goldman Sachs: (i) Southeast Trust Strategist for the Goldman Sachs Trust Companies and (ii) Southeast representative of the Strategic Wealth Advisory Team (“SWAT”), which advises ultra-high net worth clients on matters related to taxation, securities law, philanthropy, family governance, creditor protection and related trust strategies. Michael’s topic was, “Interesting Tangible Property”. The topic that Michael mostly covered was the holding and preserving of art that has significant value in an estate. Michael's presentation gave us insight into managing art in an estate. Michael Duffy’s CLE outline will be available soon on the Atlanta Bar’s website under the "Estate Planning and Probate Section" under “Resources”. Just click here to access a valuable archive of our monthly speaker’s CLE materials going back to September of 2009. Shari Martin of Diversified Trust and Mary Garlardi of Mary B. Galardi, P.C., spo ke at our breakfast meeting on January 12 about “Avoiding Estate Planning Regrets.” Mary is a past chair of the Estate Planning Probate Section and served on the board for many years prior to becoming the chair. Shari has been the driving force behind the Estate Planning and Probate Section’s Annual Forum. Shari and Mary discussed various practical problems encountered in the probate process. The talk engendered a lively discussion at our meeting. In addition to our great speakers at the monthly meeting, the Estate Planning and Probate Section has valuable socials with various groups of professionals in the Atlanta area. Our Section had a social with the Georgia Society of CPAs in midNovember 2013 located at Aja. On March 6, 2014, we will be having a social with the Tax Law Section, the Elder Law Section and the Georgia Financial Planners Association at the Gordon Biersch located in Buckhead near the intersection of Piedmont and Peachtree roads. Please join us. 34 THE ATLANTA LAWYER January/February 2014 The Atlanta Bar’s Estate Planning and Probate Section monthly breakfast meeting on Wednesday, February 12 at the Buckhead Club will feature Georgia State Law School Professor Sam Donaldson. Georgia and the Estate Planning and Probate Section are lucky to have such a valuable resource as Professor Donaldson. Professor Donaldson will be speaking on the "Interplay of Estate Tax and Income Tax Planning." This subject is one that we can use to add great value to our client’s estate. With the estate tax credit allowing married couples to pass up to $10,000,000 estate tax free, there is a great need to focus on the significant income tax issues that can arise. Sam Donaldson is a professor of law at Georgia State University, where he teaches courses in tax and estate planning. He was formerly Associate Dean and Professor at the University of Washington School of Law in Seattle. A member of the bar in Washington, Oregon and Arizona, Professor Donaldson is the author of the Thomson-West casebook, Federal Income Taxation of Individuals, a coauthor of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning treatise published by CCH, and a co-author of Federal Wealth Transfer Taxes. 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, his puzzles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and other publications. Our breakfast meeting after February’s meeting will be on March 12 with Charles Beaudrot of the newly created Georgia Tax Tribunal. The Georgia Tax Tribunal is dedicated to the resolution of disputes between taxpayers and the Georgia Department of Revenue. An autonomous division within the Office of State Administrative Hearings, the Georgia Tax Tribunal hears cases seeking review of actions of the Department of Revenue. By law, Tax Tribunal judges must be experienced tax attorneys. Our clients will finally have way of addressing questionable decisions by the Georgia Department of Revenue. The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association