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It’s a Blizzard Out ThereIt’s a Blizzard Out There

Fiduciaries must be mindful of recent developments, including a new French trust law and challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act

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

January 3, 2013

5 Min Read
It’s a Blizzard Out There

Fiduciaries will remember 2012 as one of the busiest years in recent memory. Numerous changes occurred or were anticipated to occur, many of which impact trusts.

 

French Wealth Tax

Because fiduciaries don’t have enough U.S. tax law compliance issues, the French decided to add an additional burden on U.S. fiduciaries. In simple terms, the trustee of any trust that was created by a French resident, owns French assets or has a French resident beneficiary must disclose the trust to the French Tax Administration. The disclosure must include a detailed inventory of assets and information regarding the identity of the settlor, trustees, beneficiaries and the terms of the trust. Additionally, notice must be given to the French Tax Administration i...

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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.