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A Touchy DilemmaA Touchy Dilemma

What do you do if your client is suffering from diminished capacity? There are no bright line rules an attorney can rely on

12 Min Read
Wealth Management logo in a gray background | Wealth Management

Ivan Taback & Vanessa L. Maczko

What should an estate-planning attorney do when a client comes to her office to discuss an estate plan that's out of line with what the attorney would recommend or otherwise deem appropriate? What if the client is adamant about this plan even though it's inefficient for tax purposes or will likely cause conflict within the client's family? When an attorney finds herself in this situation, she should consider the possibility that the client is suffering from diminished capacity. Before drafting and executing the requested plan, the attorney should determine whether the client has sufficient capacity to understand and implement the plan and, if she doesn't, the attorney must consider her ethical obligations t...

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About the Authors

Ivan Taback

Partner, Proskauer Rose LLP

 

Ivan Taback is a Partner in the Personal Planning Department and a member of the Private Investment Funds Group. Ivan concentrates his legal practice in the fields of federal estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes, charitable trusts, estate and trust administration and fiduciary litigation. His practice extends to matters involving all aspects of sophisticated planning and wealth preservation for families and individuals. He has extensive experience in the preparation and administration of wills and trusts, and the formation and reorganization of closely held corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.

Ivan has counseled clients in connection with estate planning for private equity and hedge fund managers and is a well-known lecturer on this topic. He has substantial experience counseling clients on estate planning opportunities that arise in connection with the sale of privately held businesses.

In addition, Ivan has extensive experience with all types of life insurance planning, including split-dollar arrangements. He has prepared prenuptial and post-nuptial agreements, powers of attorney and health care proxies. Ivan has administered large and complex estates in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, as well as other states, and has handled numerous IRS estate tax audits. He also has been involved in many Surrogate's Court proceedings.

Ivan also advises individual and corporate fiduciaries in connection with the planning and administration of substantial and complex trusts and estates.

Ivan has co-authored numerous publications, including Starting a Limited Liability Company (published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.) and several articles that have been published in the New York Law Journal and the New Jersey Law Journal, and has appeared on Bloomberg Television.