An Introduction of Drafting and Related Challenges and Opportunities Under the New Income Regulations

Mr. Blattmachr is a Principal in ILS Management, LLC and a retired member of Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP in New York, NY and of the Alaska, California and New York Bars. He is recognized as one of the most creative trusts and estates lawyers in the country and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America. He has written and lectured extensively on estate and trust taxation and charitable giving.

Mr. Blattmachr graduated from Columbia University School of Law cum laude, where he was recognized as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and received his A.B. degree from Bucknell University, majoring in mathematics. He has served as a lecturer-in-law of the Columbia University School of Law and is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University Law School in its Masters in Tax Program (LLM). He is a former chairperson of the Trusts & Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and of several committees of the American Bar Association. Mr. Blattmachr is a Fellow and a former Regent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and past chair of its Estate and Gift Tax Committee. He is author or co-author of eight books and more than 500 articles on estate planning and tax topics.

Among professional activities, which are too numerous to list, Mr. Blattmachr has served as an Advisor on The American Law Institute, Restatement of the Law, Trusts 3rd; and as a Fellow of The New York Bar Foundation and a member of the American Bar Foundation.

Professor Mitchell M. Gans is the Steven A. Horowitz distinguished professor in taxation at Hofstra University School of Law, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU Law School. He is an Academic Fellow at ACTEC and is the Academic Editor of the ACTEC Journal. Professor Gans is a leading scholar in the estate-and-gift tax area, teaching courses for the IRS on estate and gift tax and valuation methodology. He is a frequent lecturer for ALI-ABA, NYU, ACTEC, the ABA and other groups and has written numerous articles on estate tax planning topics, including a recent Leimberg Information Services article, co-authored with Jonathan Blattmachr, on the Proposed Section 2704 Regulations.

Michael L. Graham is Chairman of InterActive Legal and practices law with the Houser Firm in Dallas, Texas.

Mike has been continuously Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization for 40 years. He became a full partner at age 30 in one of the largest, most respected law firms in the US, Baker & Botts, and became a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel at age 34. MIke has served as Chair of the Texas Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, the Houston Bar Association’s Probate Section, and the Dallas Bar Association’s Probate Section. Other professional contributions include Supervisory Council Member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section and President of the Texas Academy of Probate and Trust Lawyers.

In his practice at the Houser Law Firm, Mike limits his current focus to matters involving business and estate planning, administration of estates and trusts, and fiduciary based litigation. He has practiced at both large, international firms and small boutique firms over the last 44 years. He received his J.D., cum laude, from Baylor School of Law (1972), and his BBA from Baylor University (1971).