[EstGift] Estate and Gift Tax Committee Update

[Mickey Davis]

Dear Committee Members,

Thanks for all of your feedback about the Estate and Gift Tax Committee. Our Subcommittees are taking shape, but there is still time to join your favorite(s). I encourage those of you that haven't yet expressed an interest to do so by e-mailing me.  A listing of the current Subcommittees and their initial members is attached. As you'll see,  I have had some people volunteer to serve as initial leaders for some of the Subcommittees, but can use more.  It is my hope that Subcommittee members will give updates, recent development reports, and make other substantive contributions at future meetings.  Not all Subcommittees will report at all meetings, but prior to the meeting, I may ask Subcommittees to prepare a report (or ask if they have anything on which they would like to report).

The Summer Meeting in Philadelphia is eight weeks away.  In my experience, most Subcommittee work gets done in the week or so before the meeting, but I am encouraging you not to wait until the last minute to start your discussions.

To be effective, Subcommittees need to communicate. I have identified four ways for you to do that, and plan to let you all decide what you think works best for your group.  Many of you may use multiple methods. These include:


1.       Group e-mail exchanges.  E-mail exchanges are fairly simple, and allow people to share ideas without the need to coordinate schedules. They can be effective if people participate, but it takes time for conversations to percolate.  Some people dread the idea of receiving more e-mails, but I encourage you to use this method, at least until you settle upon something else.


2.       Telephone Conferences.  The ACTEC National Office provides subcommittees with the ability to host telephone conference calls, and has encouraged our use of this resource.  It does require scheduling a mutually convenient time, but it also permits a good interchange of ideas in a very efficient fashion. To schedule a call, contact Donna Braman, Director, Committees and CLE, at(202) 684-8454  or at donna.braman at actec.org<mailto:donna.braman at actec.org>.


3.       Communications Forum. Lots of groups use an electronic forum to communicate.  It allows you to "visit" the forum to browse and exchange topically grouped ideas without having your inbox bombarded (although if there is a topic you want to stay abreast about, you can click a button to receive an e-mail whenever something is posted about the topic).  The forum has the benefits of group e-mail exchanges, but lets you decide how often you participate in the conversation. I've set up a simple forum that you join at http://estgift.forumotion.com/.  In order to keep the discussion limited to ACTEC Fellows, you have to click "Register" at the top of the page the first time you visit. Then pick a username (please use your first and last name as your username), type in your e-mail address and pick a password. I'll then send you an e-mail that lets you log in and post messages.  My plan is to let all Fellows join, so that "visitors" can participate.  You can join the forum even if you haven't decided on  a Subcommittee.  Well attended forums are great ways to communicate. Poorly attended ones tend to die off, since no one wants to post questions or comments that no one else responds to.  This forum is free (so sorry about the occasional ads). If the forum catches on and you find the ads annoying, we may move it to a more sophisticated place in cyberspace.


4.       Have a face-to-face meeting.  This is admittedly difficult to do unless we carve time out of the Estate Planning Committee meetings to have breakouts. Breakouts seem to be fairly unpopular, and so my current plan is not to have them, so long as the other methods prove effective.


Again, please let me know if you would like to join a Subcommittee.

Thanks!

Mickey R. Davis
Davis & Willms, PLLC
3555 Timmons Lane, Suite 1250
Houston, Texas 77027
(281) 786-4502 voice
(281) 742-2600 fax
mickey at daviswillms.com<mailto:mickey at daviswillms.com>

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