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How Tax Reform Could Affect FiduciariesHow Tax Reform Could Affect Fiduciaries

Watch out for increased responsibilities.

Gail E. Cohen, Chair of Fiduciary Trust’s Board of Directors and General Trust Counsel

December 13, 2017

5 Min Read
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WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: Legislation and regulation books are stacked and ready in the House Ways and Means Committee hearing room ahead of a markup session of the proposed GOP tax reform bill in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill November 6, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump said that he wants to sign new tax cuts into law before the end of the year. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

On Nov. 16, 2017, the House passed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (the Act). As of this writing, it appears that professional fiduciaries will be thankful for some parts of this massive tax reform, but perhaps not thankful for other parts. The Senate passed its own version of the bill on Dec. 2, but reconciliation, passage and signing into law aren’t assured. Nevertheless, the Republicans and the President were determined to have tax reform become law before the New Year. Here’s what fiduciaries need to know. 

Proposal Details

Here are some of the provisions in the Act that fiduciaries should be aware of. 

Increase in applicable exclusion amount. The Act—as well as the Senate version—both contain an astonishing doubling of the applicable exclusio...

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About the Author

Gail E. Cohen

Chair of Fiduciary Trust’s Board of Directors and General Trust Counsel, Fiduciary Trust International

Gail E. Cohen, Chair of Fiduciary Trust’s Board of Directors and General Trust Counsel, has over 30 years of experience in the area of trusts and estates. She is a member of Fiduciary Trust’s Management and Operating Committees and is also Chair of Fiduciary Trust International of the South. Before joining Fiduciary Trust in 1994, Gail was a trusts and estates associate at the law firm of Debevoise& Plimpton. Previously, she was an associate at the law offices of Edward S. Schlesinger, P.C. Gail is a former Chair of the New York Bankers Association and sits on its investmentcommittee. She has the distinction of having served as the Association’s first woman Chair, as Vice Chair, and as Treasurer. Gail was named one of the “Top 50 Women in Wealth,” selected by AdvisorOne(2010 and 2011) and is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). She holds the Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner designation, has been elected intothe NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame, and has been honored by the Trusts and Estates Lawyers Division of the UJA. Gail currently sits on the Investment Committee of the New York City Bar Association and is a former member of that Bar Association’s Committee on Estate and Gift Tax, which she chaired from 1998-2001. She serves on The Rockefeller University Committee on Trust and Estate Gift Plans, the Hospital for Special Surgery Advisory Council, the New York Historical Society Professional Advisory Committee, the Professional Advisory Committee of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, the Board of Trustees of theBoca Raton Museum of Art, and the Professional Advisory Boards of the Anti-Defamation League in Florida and Jewish Adoption and Family CareOptions (JAFCO). She has also served as an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School and is a frequent writer and lecturer for attorney groups, including University of Miami’s Heckerling Institute (2014), as well as Practicing Law Institute to the New York State Bar Association and Society ofTrust and Estate Practitioners. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Mount Holyoke College and a Juris Doctor degree, summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School. She is admitted to the Bars in New York and New Jersey.