section update
Estate Planning & Probate Section Members Learn Tips
for “Planning Under the Dark Clouds of An Approaching
Sunset” at the 9th Annual Atlanta Estate Planning Forum
By Loraine M. DiSalvo
Morgan & DiSalvo, P.C.
[email protected]
O
n October 23, 2012, the Estate Planning and Probate
Section joined with Diversified Trust Company to
present the 9th Annual Atlanta Estate Planning Forum
at The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. This year’s
Forum featured Sam Donaldson, who recently joined the
faculty of the Georgia State University College of Law after 13
years as a Professor and Associate Dean at the University of
Washington School of Law in Seattle. Professor Donaldson
is a well-known expert in the areas of estate planning, federal
taxation, and business succession planning, with many
scholarly publications to his credit. His presentation focused
on ways that estate planners can help their clients take
advantage of historically large gift and generation-skipping
transfer tax exemptions before the laws which created
those exemptions “sunset” as scheduled at the end of 2012.
Professor Donaldson’s combination of deep knowledge,
clear explanations, and stand-up comedy skills ensured that
Forum attendees were both educated and entertained at the
roughly four hour event. Our Section welcomes Professor
Donaldson to the Atlanta legal community and thanks him
for appearing at the Forum.
Diversified Trust Company and the Section invite CPAs to
attend the Forum as well as Section members and other
attorneys, and both CLE hours and continuing education
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association
credits for CPAs were available. As in past years, a cocktail
reception followed the event, and provided an excellent
opportunity for attendees to extend and reinforce their
networks. Several great door prizes, including a new iPad
as well as tickets to several upcoming Cobb Energy Centrebased events, were awarded at the reception.
Our Section is grateful to Diversified Trust Company for its
continued support of our Section and its help with the Forum.
The 10th Forum is scheduled to take place in fall 2013.
Those who wish to suggest speakers or topics for the next
Forum are invited to contact any Section board member. We
want the Forum to continue to be an important and exciting
opportunity for networking and education.
Upcoming Section events for the remainder of 2012 include
our regular breakfast meetings, scheduled for November
14th and December 12th. Since year-end is a particularly
busy time for our typical Section member, and since this year
is expected to be especially busy due to the looming taxlaw sunset, the Section is focusing more on 2013 for other
events, including a joint social with the Family Law Section
which is scheduled for January 24, 2013. Please watch the
Bar’s calendar for further updates. ■
November 2012
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
21