By Jay Dismukes

In keeping with a tradition established over the last several years, the Estate Planning Committee again held a well-received and widely attended annual conference featuring a nationally recognized closing speaker whose riveting presentation kept the 225 attendees glued to their seats until the very end.

Held on July 11 in midtown Manhattan, the 2002 Estate Planning Conference, like those in years past, included a number of top speakers who covered a variety of timely topics that audience members were able to draw from and apply to their own practices, according to Susan R. Schoenfeld of Bessemer Trust Company.

“I thought it was the best conference that we’ve ever had,” Schoenfeld, who chaired the event with Alan D. Kahn of the AJK Financial Group, said. “We’re gratified to have had such a tremendous turnout.”

The top speakers included Edward A. Slott, a nationally recognized IRA distribution and tax expert, author of a monthly IRA newsletter and a former chair of the Estate Planning Committee, now headed by Robert L. Ecker, a partner with Ecker, Loehr, Ecker & Ecker LLP and a conference speaker.

“Ed Slott, as usual, was a fantastic end to the day,” Schoenfeld said. “He presented very useful suggestions in a lighthearted, entertaining fashion.”

With a delivery that was as humorous as it was informative, Slott’s presentation focused on estate planning with IRAs, cautioning the audience members about certain pitfalls, sharing with them strategic planning opportunities, and generally guaranteeing they stayed interested throughout.

Among his many suggestions and pieces of advice, Slott, a frequent financial news source for the national media, encouraged the planners to consider integrating life insurance with every plan that has a large IRA.

“Life insurance is key to the IRA if you can get over the hump that it (the IRA) is not sacred,” Slott said. “It’s the most cost-effective way to protect an IRA…and a great way to perpetuate real wealth.”

According to a presentation handout, Slott suggests withdrawing from a large retirement plan, paying tax on the distributions and using the remainder, after income taxes, to purchase life insurance that is established in an irrevocable life insurance trust separate from the estate. When the IRA owner dies, the child can receive the life insurance estate and income tax free and have enough to pay any estate tax due on the first death if more than the exemption amount of the retirement plan is passed on.

During his presentation, Slott also clarified the designated beneficiary rule under the April 2002 final regulations on retirement plan distributions. According to the handout, all designated beneficiaries must be named by the IRA owner while he or she still is alive. “Then, after death, the designated beneficiary may be changed, but only amongst the group of beneficiaries named by the IRA owner.” The new regs also set a new date for determining the designated beneficiary, allowing more time to calculate and withdraw required amounts.

When possible, keep estate planning “simple,” Slott told the attendees. Among a basic checklist of considerations, he reminded the planners to assume there will always be an estate tax; find out what their clients want from their estate plan and prioritize accordingly; and check that all beneficiary designation forms are carefully worded and prepared, with copies retained, so that there is no chance they can “foil” the estate plan.

In addition to Slott’s presentation, Schoenfeld said the conference’s breakout sessions, in which participants chose between concurrent lectures, also received a lot of positive feedback. These sessions covered QPRTs and GRATs, fiduciary income taxation, trusts, deferred compensation planning, post-mortem planning, and retirement planning. Other topics included estate planning developments, New York’s Principal and Income Act, FLPs and valuation discounts, and an interesting case study on business succession.