Media Mentions
2012
“How to Get the Latest Tax Break Without Spending a Bundle on Legal Fees”
Forbes, January 11, 2012
Carol Harrington said it “would not be cost-effective” for married couples with small estates to file a Form 706 federal estate tax return when one spouse dies and no tax is owed. Such a form is required to allow the surviving spouse the possibility of claiming a future $5 million estate tax exclusion from the deceased spouse.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
2011
“Lawyers Giving Back: Bundles of Love”
ABA Journal, December 2011
Menna Eltaki, Latonia Keith, Carol Harrington and Elise Beyer were pictured creating “Bare Necessities Bundles” of clothing, diapers and personal care items for women and children at a local Chicago women’s treatment center, as part of the inaugural “Together for a Cause” event co-sponsored by McDermott and LexisNexis.
Carol A. Harrington, Latonia Haney Keith, Elise J. McGee, International Tax, Private Client, Pro Bono & Community Service, Tax
“Are Those Estate-Tax Rumors Real?”
Wall Street Journal, November 18, 2011
Carol Harrington said that she could not “find any substantiation” for Internet rumors that Congress is seeking to raise the rate and lower the exemption for the estate tax, adding that such a change “makes no sense and would be highly unfair to taxpayers who have been told they have at least two years to make gifts at the higher exemptions.” Nonetheless, Ms. Harrington said that tax practitioners “have enough sense to know that we cannot predict what Congress is going to do,” and urged clients to “avoid risk by doing gifts as soon as possible, even if that risk is small.”
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client, Trust & Estate Controversy
“How Low Rates Can Cut Your Tax Bill”
The Wall Street Journal, October 1, 2011
Carol Harrington, citing such issues as how the Internal Revenue Service resets the interest rates it allows for private loans and various estate-planning transactions carried out each month, said that low interests rates make intrafamily loans especially attractive. Ms. Harrington stated, “It’s a wonderful time to lend to a child, say, to buy a house.”
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“PINs That Needle Families”
Wall Street Journal, July 23, 2011
Carol Harrington warned that digital estate planning services that maintain records of online assets like passwords and PINs may not be reliable. “If there’s more than one person who has access to data, experience has shown us that it can always be crashed in one way or another,” she stated. Ms. Harrington instead advised writing down passwords and telling family members where to find them – preferably not in a bank safe deposit box, since passwords need frequent updating.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“Gift Tax Bonanza Faces Challenge”
Dow Jones Newswire, June 30, 2011
Carol Harrington said that, although Congress could extend the high 2011-12 gift tax exemption to 2013 (when it is set to fall sharply), she is reluctant to predict what if any Congressional action will occur. Meanwhile, she noted, trying to sort through the complications and uncertainties of the gift tax is “head spinning” for many clients because of the planning difficulties it causes.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“10 Tips for Downsizers with Too Much Stuff”
Forbes.com, May 19, 2011
Carol Harrington advised Baby Boomers looking to reduce the personal assets they hold to give them as gifts of cash, stocks or valuables. “You can give away a lot of stuff, keep it in the family, and there are no tax costs,” she noted, provided that the annual value of such gifts does not exceed $13,000. However, she added that once gifts exceed that limit the donor must file a federal gift tax return and the tax amount counts against the donor’s lifetime gift tax exemption.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“Top-Ranked Estate Planner Joins McDermott”
Private Wealth, April 12, 2001
Jeffrey Stone and Carol Harrington both praised Carlyn McCaffrey, who has led her team of seven estates and trusts lawyers from a major New York-based firm to McDermott’s Private Client Group in New York. Mr. Stone called Ms. McCaffrey “one of the most highly respected practitioners in the country” and singled out “the results she and her team have continually delivered.” Ms. Harrington added that Ms. McCaffrey “is a truly brilliant and highly sought-after advisor,” and noted the skills of new partners Amy Heller and Elyse Kirschner.
Carol A. Harrington, Carlyn S. McCaffrey, Jeffrey E. Stone, Private Client, White-Collar & Securities Defense
“Most Influential Lawyers”
National Law Journal, March 28, 2011
Carol Harrington was one of just 34 influential lawyers singled out by readers and researchers as among those who “have clout … to shape the world and the way it works.” Ms. Harrington called her private client practice “the closest thing in a large law firm to a general practitioner.” The publication praised her as “a national authority on the federal generation-skipping tax and a widely published commentator in her field,” and added that she “also knows the ins and outs of the tax, property and inheritance codes.”
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“Rich Folks Seek to Undo 2010 Taxable Gifts”
Forbes.com, January 12, 2011
Carol Harrington addressed the strict tax rules that apply to anyone who decides to turn down a taxable gift or inheritance, an action called a disclaimer that might be justified by recent tax law changes that Congress made. When financial assets are involved, Ms. Harrington said, a recipient who takes title to an asset or deposits a check into an account could probably make a valid disclaimer; but a disclaimer might not cover interest or dividends received. She added that, given all the special circumstances that applied in 2010, Congress could have made the rules for charitable gifts more lenient, but it did not.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
2010
“The State of the Estate Tax”
The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2010
Carol Harrington called it a “welcome move” that the tax plan negotiated between President Obama and Congressional Republicans would for the first time unify the estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes, with one $5 million per individual exemption for all three.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“Baucus Aims to Stop Wealthy from Year-End Asset Moves”
Bloomberg Business Week, December 4, 2010
Carol Harrington said that the possibility that Congress could still approve a higher gift tax rate for late 2010 would affect “a significant number of people across the country who are contemplating year-end gifts” from their estates.” The uncertainty “may make some people stop and see what Congress is going to do,” she predicted, adding that if individuals do not make gifts the government is “going to give up a lot of revenue immediately” from the gift tax rate that is already in place.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“Last Chance to Foil a Gift Tax”
The Wall Street Journal, October 30, 2010
Carol Harrington stated that the 2011 return of the estate tax and the generation-skipping tax (both suspended for 2010), together with possible application of the gift tax, can mean that the federal government could receive more in taxes than beneficiaries receive from any wealth transfer gifts made next year within high-income families.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
“How to Play the Tax War”
Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2010
Carol Harrington addressed estate and gift tax issues in an extensive story about tax law issues facing Congress yet this year. Congress allowed the estate tax to expire 2010, but unless Congress acts the gift tax rate will rise in January and the generation-skipping tax will return. It is unclear how Congress will deal with these issues when considering the fate of the estate tax. Ms. Harrington said it would seem unfair to impose the taxes retroactively for 2010 this late in the year, but added, “If they [Congress] are hunting for pennies in the sofa cushions, who knows what will happen?” She is advising wealthy clients to plan for taxable gifts in 2010 but not to act until December, at which point the law could be clearer and unnecessary taxes could be avoided.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington commented on the 2010 expiration of the federal estate tax for Bloomberg.com on May 7, calling the estate planning problems that it creates “a total, complete nightmare.” She cited the example of one client, a small business owner who died suddenly this year. Ms. Harrington is uncertain how to settle the client’s estate because the tax could be brought back retroactively. “We would normally be looking at what we were going to do to raise money to pay the taxes, and what our options are,” she said. “We have no idea whether we’ll even owe the estate tax or not, but it would be hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington was quoted by the New York Times on February 18, in a story about how the failure by Congress to address the expiration of the estate tax at the end of 2009 is causing uncertainties that could paralyze the resolution of financial affairs after a death. Speaking of the inability of estate planners to address financial complications for persons who lose a loved one this year, Ms. Harrington declared, “It’s a sad situation that the government lets us twist in the wind while people have to make decisions.” She cited as an example the need for executors to delay selling assets in an estate because the tax implications of a sale are unclear.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington told Law.com on February 2 (in a story also carried that day in The National Law Journal and The Recorder) that she is one of many estates and trusts lawyers whose clients need advice and counseling about their legal documents after Congress failed to reinstate the federal estate tax that expired on December 31, 2009. “This is a huge time-waster,” Ms. Harrington said, speaking of a review she is making of a 125-page list of clients who might need help. “We’re going to spend hundreds of hours just trying to figure out what it all means.”
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington commented about the 2010 expiration of the federal estate and generation-skipping taxes for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin on January 5. She noted that both lawyers and clients were surprised that Congress allowed the taxes to expire and added that she is telling clients, “particularly if they are elderly or ill, [that] they should review their estate plan to make sure it works properly if they were to die while there was no estate or generation-skipping tax.” The taxes are scheduled to return in 2011.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
2009
Carol Harrington was quoted on the potential 2010 expiration of the federal estate tax due to a 2001 tax cut. "We don't know what to tell our clients.... Nobody...thought Congress would be this irresponsible in dealing with a situation that they had on the horizon for nine years" (Washington Post, Dec. 19). Although Congress may make the tax retroactive, "there are some people who will take that bet" that it won't, which "could be a pretty big advantage if Congress is so dysfunctional" as not to act (Bloomberg, Dec. 21; Denver Post, Dec. 28). Meanwhile, the expiration "bring[s] potential planning opportunities but also dilemmas, because we don't know what will happen" (Wall Street Journal, December 19). In short, she sees "a disaster even if you are in favor of repeal" (Reuters, Dec. 18), because estate planners "may have to change every other client document....The uncertainty is paralyzing" (Forbes, Dec. 17).
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington was quoted on December 21 by Business Week.com in a Bloomberg News story concerning the 2010 expiration of the federal estate tax. Ms. Harrington noted that, although Congress may reinstate the tax and make it retroactive on those individuals who used the expiration to transfer wealth at a steep tax discount, “There are some people who will take the bet” that this will not happen. “It could be a pretty big advantage if Congress is so dysfunctional that retroactivity is no better than a 50-50 bet,” she added.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington was quoted in the January 26 issue of the Private Asset Management about how families with $30 million in assets have been looking to set up their own private trust companies. Carol noted that a trust company can share resources and infrastructure with a pre-existing single or multi-family office and the family can also bundle both investment advisory fees and trustee fees to further reduce costs.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client, Trust & Estate Controversy
2008
Carol Harrington, George Heisler, Henry "Terry" Christensen and Jonathan Lurie were quoted in the August/September issue of Private Wealth Magazine on McDermott's elite Private Client Department. "Within a law firm, a department or practice group needs to be successful vis-à-vis the other departments in order to be able to grow or receive capital when necessary," explained Mr. Heisler. "Our private client group is very strong internally, but I know lawyers at other firms who are not being permitted to build their groups because they're not deemed to be profitable enough," he added. Working in estate planning, one needs not only technical skills, but people skills as well. "The single most important factor in estate planning is understanding your clients and having a genuine concern for them...," Mr. Lurie said.
Henry Christensen III, Carol A. Harrington, Quentin G. Heisler Jr., Jonathan C. Lurie, Private Client
2007
Carol Harrington was quoted in the August 29 issue of Bloomberg and the August 30 issue of the Kansas City Daily Record on how Leona Helmsley, the late real estate developer, left $12 million to her Maltese dog, Trouble, which received a larger share of her $4 billion estate than any of her grandchildren. Ms. Harrington hadn't heard of anyone leaving as much as Trouble will receive.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington was quoted in the August 1 issue of The Wall Street Journal about how the Internal Revenue Service's proposed regulations say investment management and advisory fees paid by trusts or estates typically cannot be deducted in full. Under current tax law, certain costs may be deducted in full if they're paid or incurred in connection with the administration of an estate or trust and wouldn't have been if the property weren't held in the trust or estate. But "the language is ambiguous," said Ms. Harrington. "When smart judges come to different conclusions, it's pretty clear the language is unclear," she added.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client, Trust & Estate Controversy
2006
Carol Harrington was quoted in the September 4 issue of Fortune magazine about the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granting patents to people who claim to have invented novel ways of avoiding taxes. "If you can patent an interpretation of the tax law, why not patent anyone's legal advice?" Ms. Harrington said.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client, Tax
Carol Harrington was quoted in an August 30 article in Fortune Magazine in an article that explored the recent trend of patenting tax shelters and loopholes. "If you can patent an interpretation of the tax law, why not patent anyone's legal advise?" Ms. Harrington said. "Then you could say people being prosecuted for murder can't use a certain defense without paying a licensing fee. Something is seriously wrong with that in my view," she added.
Carol A. Harrington, Intellectual Property, Private Client
Carol Harrington was mentioned in the April 9 edition of the Chicago Tribune regarding being named chair of McDermott's Private Client Department.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Q. George Heisler and Carol Harrington were mentioned in the March 20 issue of the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin and the March 29 issue of the Daily Deal about being named partner-in-charge of McDermott's Chicago office and being named chair of the Firm's private client department, respectively.
Carol A. Harrington, Quentin G. Heisler Jr., Private Client
2003
On December 12, Carol Harrington was quoted in Business Week regarding changes in estate taxes that are taking place in a number of states. Illinois is following the federal exclusion for estate taxes, unlike some other states, but it will freeze its exclusion at $2 million starting in 2009, commented Ms. Harrington.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
2002
Carol Harrington was quoted in the July 11 issue of The Wall Street Journal regarding the disposal of remains, in light of the disagreement between Ted Williams' next of kin. The article addresses various state laws in regard to the written wishes of the deceased. Ms. Harrington commented that including your request in your will is not the best option in many cases.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
2001
Carol Harrington was quoted in the December 20 issue of Financial Times in regard to changes in the gift and estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax as of January 1. Ms. Harrington commented on the provision included in the new tax bill that permits taxpayers to gain permission from the IRS to allocate the GST exemption retroactively. She said the provision is good for those who originally failed to allocate to their gift.
Carol A. Harrington, Private Client
Carol Harrington was quoted in the November 6 issue of the Chicago Tribune. The personal finance column addressed Americans' increased need to make certain their family is taken care of long-term. Ms. Harrington commented on the difficulties of realizing the need for a will and outlines some of the will and tax considerations that should not be overlooked.
