Lainie R Fastman

December 26, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Can we dispense with the dour recitals of correct speech? Can we agree to engage in cordial discourse about these weighty matters and extend a measure of personal freedom? Could the spirit of personal liberty (let alone courtesy) penetrate the murky waters of the pursuit of gender neutral language in the court room?

By Lainie R. Fastman

10 minute read

September 20, 2018 | New York Law Journal

Presumably, the young woman knew what the condom was for and thus, presumably, the young man was convinced there was implied consent.

By Lainie R. Fastman

4 minute read

December 05, 2014 | New York Law Journal

Lainie R. Fastman writes: Notwithstanding New York's careful guidance to trustees in delineating which items such as dividends and rents are to be defined as "income" and which are to be defined as "principal," a trustee may be faced with baffling choices, because the administration of a trust concerns parties with differing interests, income beneficiaries and remainder beneficiaries. Counsel's task in giving client and accountant suitable instructions is considerably more difficult than adherence to the simple and straightforward principles of principal and income.

By Lainie R. Fastman

13 minute read

May 21, 2013 | New York Law Journal

Lainie R. Fastman, a partner at The Law Firm of Hall & Hall, writes that many attorneys fail to include in wills and trusts the most rudimentary provisions to direct how infants' funds are to be administered, even where a testator has a family, or where payments to infants are anticipated.

By Lainie R. Fastman

14 minute read

January 28, 2011 | New York Law Journal

Lainie R. Fastman, a partner at Hall & Hall, write that the need for a kinship hearing can arise in a variety of circumstances, among them competing claimants seeking an appointment as administrator or a determination is sought as to who is entitled to a share as distributee.

By Lainie R. Fastman

14 minute read

December 27, 2007 | New York Law Journal

Lainie R. Fastman, a partner at Hall & Hall, writes that once in a while, a case comes along that causes genuine unhappiness at the outcome and reminds us to be vigilant in drafting. Such a case was recently decided in Pennsylvania, where a split-interest bequest, shared between a charity and natural persons, led to the IRS disallowing the charitable deduction of $399,079 on the estate tax return for the portion to be distributed to the charities.

By Lainie R. Fastman

10 minute read