[EstGift] Estate and Gift Tax Committee Matters

Tue Mar 19 04:13:06 PDT 2013

Mickey,

Thank you for your email.

I am looking forward to your leadership during the next 3 years.

I am interested in serving as a member of the 706/709 Reporting Issues  
working group.

Best regards,

Charlie

Charles Ian  Nash, Esq.
Nash & Kromash, LLP
440 South Babcock Street
Melbourne,  Florida 32901
voice (321) 984-2440
fax (321) 984-1040
email:  cinashlaw at aol.com

Florida Bar Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and  Estates
Fellow and Regent, American College of Trust and Estate  Counsel

Please visit our web site at _www.n-klaw.com_ 
(http://www.nmkestateplanning.com/) 

In a message dated 3/14/2013 1:04:32 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
mickey at daviswillms.com writes:

Dear Committee  Members, 
I am writing to you  as the new chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Committee 
and to ask for your help  in Committee matters. I apologize in advance for 
the length of this e-mail,  and appreciate your time in reviewing it.  
First, let me say  that I am honored to succeed Diana Zeydel as Chair.  The 
Committee has  greatly benefitted from Diana's leadership over the last 
three years, and I  would like to express my thanks for all of her hard work.  
Second, there  is one matter that requires your immediate response, relating 
to input into  the IRS Priority Guidance Plan for next year. Finally, I 
would like to share  some thoughts about the organization of the Committee, and 
some ideas about  increasing the level of input by Members. 
Recommendations for  Regulations/Guidance Projects. 
At the meeting in  Maui, we were reminded that ACTEC’s Washington Affairs 
Committee is seeking  proposals for possible recommendations for the 
Treasury-IRS Priority Guidance  Plan for next year (which will likely be released in 
the fall).  This  would include suggestions for regulations or other 
guidance from the Treasury  and/or IRS.  One topic that I view as being of high 
importance is  guidance about the applicability of Rev. Proc. 2001-38 as it 
may relate to  QTIP elections made on estate tax returns filed to maximize the 
use of the  DSUE amount.  We should aim to submit any recommendations that 
we have by  the end of March.  The Washington Affairs Committee wants a 
brief  description of the recommended project, why it is important, its relative 
 urgency, and how the project might be helped by partnering with other  
organizations.  Please let me know any recommendations that you have as  soon 
as possible, but by Wednesday, March 27 at the latest.  Please send  them to 
me at:  _mickey at daviswillms.com_ (mailto:mickey at daviswillms.com) . 
Increased Committee  Involvement. 
One of my  priorities as Chair is to increase the level of involvement by 
Committee  Members.  The Estate and Gift Tax Committee is one of the 
College's  largest and it covers a broad range of topics. There is certainly value 
in  hearing in-depth reports on selected topics, and I believe that some 
Members  are content to come to meetings to hear remarks from a few frequent  
contributors. It is my personal view, however, that being a member of a  
committee involves a commitment to participate actively.  One of the  greatest 
benefits of being a Fellow is the ability to listen to and learn from  the 
diverse views of practitioners from all over. I firmly believe that broad  
participation by Committee Members is the best way for us all to learn from  
each others' wisdom, experience, triumphs, and even  failures. 
Fellows that prefer  to remain passive during Committee meetings can 
certainly do that from the  visitors' seats. If we are to occupy seats at the 
table as Members, however, I  believe that we should be willing to share our 
ideas, and take an active part  in the discussions.  Let's face it:  None of us 
became a Fellow by  being too shy to share our ideas with other  
practitioners. 
The Substantive  Chairs Committee has had numerous discussions about the 
best way to increase  involvement by committee members, and has come to no 
real consensus.  It  has been my experience, though, that committees that have 
active subcommittees  and workgroups tend to have a higher degree of 
involvement.  To that end,  I propose to ask each of you to join (or lead!) a newly 
formed subcommittee or  workgroup of the Estate and Gift Tax Committee. I 
have set out below some  preliminary group headings, but I certainly invite 
each of you to let me know  if there are any other areas in which you have a 
special interest.    
It is my intention  to ask subcommittee members to give updates, recent 
development reports, and  make other substantive contributions at future 
meetings.  While  participation in a subcommittee is not mandatory, I believe that 
it should be  a factor in considering which Members continue to serve on 
the Committee, and  which should be asked to make room for other Fellows who 
are more interested  in taking an active role in advancing discussions at 
Committee  meetings. 
Some of you may be  thinking, "Uh on. This new guy is already a trouble 
maker," or "Why is he  stirring the pot?"  I understand that change can be 
uncomfortable.   If you think that I am out of line, or have other ideas for 
increasing  involvement, I welcome you to share your thoughts, either publicly 
with the  Committee or privately with me. I view this change as a worthwhile 
experiment,  but I am happy to consider other views and alternatives.  I am 
hopeful  that most of you will welcome a chance to get more from your 
Committee by  giving more to your Committee.  
Below is a  preliminary list of possible subgroups, in no particular order. 
 Some of  these obviously overlap, and I am certainly not married to this 
list. Please  let me know if one of these areas strikes your fancy, or if you 
have other  ideas.  I would be especially appreciative of volunteers wi
lling to act  as initial leaders of these (or other) groups.  Co-leaders are not 
out of  the question.  Please let me know your interest as either a member 
or a  leader as soon as possible. 
·          Generation-Skipping  Transfer Taxes 
·          Chapter  14 
·          Marital Deduction  Issues  
·          Debts and  Administration Expenses 
·          Special Use  Valuation/Alt. Val./Section 6166 
·          Portability 
·          706/709 Reporting  Issues 
·          Gifts and  Disclaimers 
·          New  Legislation/Legislative Proposals 
·          IRS  Regulations/Guidance 
I truly appreciate  your input, both on the Priority Guidance Plan and on 
efforts to increase  Committee involvement.  I hope to have an initial 
framework for  subcommittees in place for the Summer Meeting.  I look forward to 
seeing  you in Philadelphia. 
Regards, 
Mickey 

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