Posted January 2009

You have been involved in estate planning as a practitioner, educator, and author for many years now. First, is "estate planning" the correct characterization of your practice, and second, what attracted you to this area of the law?
My practice has evolved from "estate planning" to "trusts and estates" to its current focus, "private wealth" management. Early in law school, and perhaps even before that, this area appealed to me because it dealt with people rather than companies. It involved helping people with their personal challenges and offered an endless variety of experiences.

What has kept you interested in this area of the law?
I like my practice because it is not "cookie cutter" planning. When new associates come to the firm, I tell them, "You might not like it, but you won't be bored." Planning that works for one client does not necessarily work for others. There is satisfaction in developing personal relationships with clients and in helping those clients achieve their wealth-related objectives. I have had some clients for nearly thirty years. If they have significant matters, I am involved.

When I was section chair of the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, we did some polling and found satisfaction of practice to be highest among those in the estates and trusts area. The polling also found that attorneys in this area were not as motivated by money and enjoyed the idea-sharing aspect of the practice. People stay with it longer. One partner in our firm has been at it for sixty years. You have been involved as a member and chair of committees of the Florida Bar Association, the ABA, and other professional organizations. Why have you chosen to be involved and what has that involvement meant to you?

Meeting other lawyers and exchanging practice ideas were two of the initial reasons for involvement. Writing and speaking to become known in the practice was another. Now I think my involvement has more to do with giving back. This paradigm shift occurred while I was active in the Florida Bar Section and working on a state statute that "didn't work." Instead of trying to find a way around it, the section worked to get the law changed so that it worked like it should. This was not a lobbying effort to benefit a particular client, but an effort to make the law work better for all who were impacted. I then became interested in the ABA as a means of having input in the federal tax law.

In 1985 you signed a contract to write Estate and Personal Financial Planning, and in 1988 the first copies were published. What motivated you to write a book on this topic?
Actually, I was asked to write the book by Clark Boardman Callaghan. One of their acquisitions editors came up with the concept. She began looking for a Florida author because her father lived there and she thought she could coordinate company business with visits to her father. I was a Florida attorney and had written some articles on the topic. I came to her attention through the articles.

Writing the book was more of an effort than I thought. Between the time we signed the contract and the publication of the book in 1988, the 1986 Tax Reform Act changed much of the law I was writing about. Many chapters had to be rewritten before publication. This added an extra year to the writing process. Although the time spent writing initially hurt me economically, the publication of the book helped my career as I sought involvement in the American and Florida Bar Associations. Through the years the monthly updates have forced me to stay current with the state of the law in an area that changes dramatically.

What do you feel distinguishes your book from other estate planning books on the market?
My book is an effective tool for specialists and nonspecialists. For the specialist, someone involved in the daily practice of estate law, it functions as a deskbook. You can use it to find a recent case or direction on disclaimers, marital deductions, valuations, and partnerships. The nonspecialist can use the book to get a broad-based overview of the major areas of the practice. I use the treatise to train new associates as it gives them a focused view of what they are being asked to do. There is nothing else like it.

How has this area of the law been effected by the current economic slowdown?
I would say that the practice area is not bleak. The uncertainty of what is going to happen may make planning difficult, but in some ways makes it more necessary. There will be lots of wealth transfer work. I would expect to see more fiduciary litigation.

What are the important issues that attorneys in the estate and financial planning field will be dealing with in the next few years?
There is a lot of potential for change. We don't know what will happen with the estate tax. Will 2009 numbers be frozen with other changes after the next stimulus package? The market collapse has had an impact on retirement plans. Will there be legislation that says you don't have to take out a minimum amount in 2009? What about 2008?

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