Ashley Flotte’s Legal Blog

I had the opportunity to attend the Bernstein 2008 Private Wealth Symposium this morning at the Houstonian Hotel in Houston. Hats off to Bernstein for hosting a first-rate seminar, complete with highly relevant material, excellent speakers, lovely ambiance and top-notch spread of refreshments.

Logically, a primary focus of the symposium was perspective in the current state of the market. Topics included an update on the capital markets, dealing with municipal bonds, perspective on global stocks, and emotions vs. reason in investing. A segment that caught my particular interest was that entitled “Investment Planning in Turbulent Markets,” outlining the propriety of various estate planning techniques in the current and projected markets from the perspective of various case studies.

During the symposium, it was mentioned that the applicable exclusion amount may not be the only estate planning issue that Congress will be taking up in the near future. Beyond the proposed $3.5 million exclusion and portability of exemption amounts between spouses, it was suggested that changes may be rolling in with regard to the availability and parameters of using GRATs, as well as to the availability of valuation discounts for tax purposes. Stay tuned!