Patrick Siegfried

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Lexis Turns Up Heat on Legal Research Competition Today: Unveils Partnership with Microsoft," reports that LexisNexis has partnered with Microsoft to allow users to perform legal research directly while working in... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Exclusive: Inside the New Westlaw, Lexis & Bloomberg Platforms," reports that the recent entrance of Google and Bloomberg into the legal research market has created legitimate competition to LexisNexis and Wes... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Blogger Impressed with Free Legal Research iPhone App," reports on a new iPhone application that allows users to conduct free legal research from their phones.  The article notes that... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Going Mobile" reports on the growing number of smartphone features and applications that may make them more attractive to praciting attorneys.  The article notes that while many of these new capabilities... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Is Your Offsite Data Safe? Microsoft GC Pushes New Security Law," reports that Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel, is pushing for new laws to increase the security of digital data stored on remote ser... Read More

Forbes, in an article titled "Where Not to Die in 2010," reports that while the Federal estate tax has been repealed for 2010, state estate and inheritance taxes are still in effect.  The article notes that 19 states have some form... Read More

Joshua C. Tate has published an article titled "Immortal Fame: Publicity Rights, Taxation, and the Power of Testation," 44 Ga. L. Rev. 1 (2009). The abstract follows below: Publicity rights, or the rights to the use of one's image and likeness,... Read More

Nina A. Kohn and Edward D. Spurgeon have posted an article titled "Elder Law Teaching and Scholarship: An Empirical Analysis of an Evolving Field" 59 J.Leg.Ed.414 (2010), on SSRN.  The abstract follows below: As the American population ages, the e... Read More

David Herzig has posted an article titled "Am I the Only One Paying Taxes: The Largest Tax Loophole of the Rich - Exchange Funds," 2010 Mich. St. L. Rev.__, on SSRN.  The abstract follows below: "President Obama is faced with... Read More

The New York Times, in an article titled "Tips to Avoid Financial Strain With Aging Parents," reports that an estimated 38 million Americans provide support for an elderly relative.  The article offers suggestions for children of aging parents to ... Read More

President Obama signed a $1.9 trillion increase in the Federal borrowing limit into law today.  The legislation includes statutory pay/go regulations that require all new spending to be offset by increased revenue or spending cuts. ... Read More

The Olympian reports that Washington state Rep. Maralyn Chase introduced a bill on Friday that would double the state's estate tax.  HB 3184 would double the rate on estates valued at less than $1 million from 10 to 20 percent. ... Read More

The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "Escape from Taxation," reports that New Jersey has experienced a dramatic out-migration of wealthy households in response to increases to the state's income taxes.  A study commission by the New Jerse... Read More

In a Q&A article titled "Congress May Restore IRA Provision," the Wall Street Journal reports that legislation passed in the House would reinstate a provision allowing individuals over the age of 70 1/2 to directly transfer up to $100,000 from... Read More

WealthCounsel has announced an expansion of its free library resources for estate planners.  The website includes materials for both new and established estate planning practitioners.  Sample resources include: 24/7 On Demand Webinars on... Read More

The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "Obama's New Investment Tax: A sneaky Medicare levy on dividends and capital gains," argues that the White House's new health care proposal would result in one of the largest tax increases for... Read More

The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "A Tough Choice: You or Your Kids," reports that in the wake of the financial crisis many Americans face a difficult decision between providing for themselves during retirement or leaving an inheritanc... Read More

The Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College has published an issue brief by Jacquelyn B. James, Elyssa Besen, Christina Matz-Costa & Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes titled "Engaged as We Age: The End of Retirement as We Know it?"&n... Read More

The New York Times, in an article titled "Nets Will Offer Free Tax Preparation as a Game Promotion," reports that the New Jersey Nets have offered a coupon for free state income tax preparation services to New Jersey fans who... Read More

Jeffrey Brown presented a paper titled "Automatic Lifetime Income and Retirement Income Security," today at Northwestern.  The presentation was part of Northwestern's Advanced Topics in Taxation Series organized by Tom Brennan and Charlotte C... Read More

Rodney D. Chrisman has posted the abstract from an article titled "LLCs are the New King of the Hill: An Empirical Study of the Number of New LLCs, Corporations, and LPs formed in the United States between 2004-2007 and How... Read More

Catherine M.A. McCauliff has posted an article titled "Didn't Your Mother Teach You to Share?: Wealth, Lobbying and Distributive Justice in the Wake of the Economic Crisis," on SSRN.  The abstract is below:"My article entitled, Didn't Your Mother ... Read More

The Center for Excellence in Elder Law at Stetson University College of Law will be presenting an webinar titled "The Fundamentals of Special Needs Trust Administration," on April 23, 2010 at 12:00pm.  The half-day webinar is designed for Special ... Read More

The NAELA Student Journal is now available online. Articles currently posted include the top eight papers submitted to the 2009 student writing competition, including:Its All About the Money: Potential Repercussions of Denying Disabled Veterans the Fre... Read More

The U.S. Department of Justice has posted an article titled "ADA: Know Your Rights - Returning Service Members with Disabilities."  The intro is below:"The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with dis... Read More

Carter G. Bishop & Daniel S. Kleinberger have posted an article titled "The Single Member Limited Liability Company as Disregarded Entity: Now You See it, Now You Don't," on SSRN.  The abstract is below: The power and complexity of the... Read More

The Joint Committee on Taxation has released two documents on the health care reform bill passed yesterday by the House: Technical Explanation of the Revenue Provisions (JCX-18-10) "This document,1 prepared by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxati... Read More

Penney J. Lewis has posted an article titled "Medical Treatment of Dementia Patients at the End of Life: Can the Law Accommodate the Personal Identity and Welfare Problems?" on SSRN. The abstract is below:"Legal approaches to decision-making in the are... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Get Your Head in the Cloud: Despite ethics questions, law firms are storing client data on the Net," reports on the use of cloud computing technology to store client data online.  Cloud computi... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Does Connecticut Hate the Net?: State is a battleground for online legal services," reports on a legal referral system that has raised ethical concerns.  The system, Total Attorneys, provides contact&nbs... Read More

The ABA Journal, in an article titled "Lawyer Warns of Blogging Burden, Even as Top Law Firms Embrace It," highlights the warnings of one burnt-out attorney blogger.  Kevin O'Keefe began blogging in October 2006 but quickly learned blogging was a... Read More

Albert Feuer has posted an article titled "Who is Entitled to Life Insurance Benefits and Top-Hat Benefits from an ERISA Plan Following a Divorce or a Marital Separation?"  NYSBA Family L. Rev. Newsletter, Vol. 41, No. 3, p. 10, Winter 2009,... Read More

The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "When Siblings Step Up," reports that the number of families caring for elders has dramatically increased over the past few years.  About 43.5 million Americans look after someone 50 or older, 28%... Read More

The ABA Section of Taxation will be hosting the following teleconference and live audio webcast CLE today at 1:00pm ET, titled "The Economic Substance Doctrine." A description of the program follows below:"At press time, the Senate has passed a version... Read More

Ruth Helman, Craig Copeland & Jack VanDerhei have posted their article "The 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey: Confidence Stabilizing, but Preparations Continue to Erode," EBRI Issue Brief, No. 304, March 2010, on SSRN. The abstract is below:"This ... Read More

The New York Law Journal has posted Matter of Atkins, which was decided on March 26, 2010. The court concluded that the evidence presented a prima facie case for removal. Affidavits and supporting documentation relied upon by the court included... Read More

Maria J. Silveira, M.D., M.P.H., Scott Y.H. Kim, M.D., Ph.D., and Kenneth M. Langa, M.D., Ph.D. have published a study regarding the value of advance directives. Their findings are below:"Background Recent discussions about health care reform have rais... Read More

The New York Law Journal has posted Guest vs. Hansen, which was decided on April 20, 2010. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second circuit held that an administrator who is a beneficiary of an estate may represent the... Read More

In an article titled "Is It Ethical to Draft a Will for a Client You Have Never Met in Person," Nicole Garton-Jones explores the ethical as well as socioeconomic nuances of online legal representation. Ms. Jones argues that technological advances... Read More

Joe Paul of the Aspen Family Business Group has posted an article titled "An Assessment Story: Bringing Hidden Family Dynamics to Light."  The article highlights the importance of  amily communication in estate planning, especially when subst... Read More

The Aspen Family Business Group will host a webinar titled "Introduction to Family Business," on May 1, 2010.  Sam H. Lane of the Aspen Business Group will present "[a]n overview of the issues facing family business owners and the approaches... Read More

The Wall Street Journal, in an article titled "Swiss Banks Get Tough on Tax-Dodgers," reports that Swiss Banks are increasing their scrutiny of European clients that they suspect may be skirting home-country tax laws. As a direct result of last... Read More

John H. Langbein has published an article titled "Burn the Rembrandt? Trust Law's Limits on the Settlor's Power to Direct Investments," 90 B.U. L. Rev. 375 (2010). An excerpt from the introduction is below: In the December 2008 issue of... Read More

Marshall B. Kapp has posted an article titled "Medical Decision-Making for Incapacitated Elders: A 'Therapeutic Interests' Standard," on SSRN. The abstract is below: Some older individuals lack sufficient present cognitive and/or emotional ability to m... Read More

Paul L. Caron has posted an article titled "The Costs of Estate Tax Dithering," on SSRN. The abstract is below: President Obama was widely criticized for "dithering" over the decision of whether to add more troops in the Afghanistan War.... Read More

The Wall Street Journal has posted an article titled "Congress's Carried Interest Tax Folly: The Latest Soak-the-Rich Scheme Will Mean Less Capital Investment and Fewer New Jobs."  The article highlights proposed legislation in both the House and ... Read More

Carolyn Dessin has posted an article titled "Should Attorneys Have a Duty to Report Financial Abuse of the Elderly?" on SSRN. The abstract is below: Exploitation of older persons is a growing problem in America. As a result, our legal... Read More