Note From the Editor: September 2024

This month, we’re proud to introduce two new features in Trusts & Estates. The first is our Financial Advisors Committee Report. We created this committee a few months ago, as we recognized estate-planning professionals must work hand-in-hand with financial advisors to provide a full range of services to their clients. This need for collaboration is highlighted in “The Financial Advisor as Quarterback,” p. 60, by D. Vance Barse, which discusses how the financial advisor can lead the entire estate-planning team in estate planning, tax planning, risk management and financial planning. The other article in the Committee Report, “Preserving Wealth Across Generations,” by Jack Elder and Ali Khodadad, p. 54, outlines the impending changes with the sunset of high exemption levels, strategies for paying estate taxes and the pivotal role of life insurance in enhancing wealth transfer efficiency and preserving family legacies.

The second new feature is “The Rundown,” which consists of rotating short columns on a variety of estate-planning topics, along with our monthly Tax Law Update column. The columns this month cover topics that are relevant to both financial advisors and estate planners. In our Technology column, “AI: Embracing the New Frontier in Your Practice,” p. 7, Craig R. Hersch discusses the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in the estate-planning practice and reviews the basic terminology every practitioner should know. The use of AI can be daunting for many practitioners, but as Craig points out, “We must use it or risk becoming extinct against smarter, nimbler competitors.” And in “Succession Planning in the Wake of New FTC Regulations,” p. 11, Martin M. Shenkman and Joy Matak review a new Federal Trade Commission rule that restricts or prohibits the use of non-compete agreements, which will create challenges for business succession planning.