Publications
Biden Administration Announces Timeline for New International Travel Policy On October 25, 2021, the Biden Administration issued a Presidential Proclamation to lift the travel bans which currently restrict entry into the U.S. directly from specific geographic areas (for a full list of restricted countries, see our prior client alert here), to be effective November 8, […]
On September 24, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General Licenses 14 and 15 and related FAQs, which authorize the provision of humanitarian assistance and the export of agricultural commodities, medicine and medical equipment to Afghanistan. These new General Licenses specifically authorize transactions involving the Taliban and the […]
Effective October 1, 2021, Connecticut law concerning data breach notification will change. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 36a-701b, passed in 2012, established the notification requirements for business and protections for consumers when a “breach of security” occurs. Now, in an effort to further protect consumers, the Connecticut legislature expanded the reach of the data breach notification statute […]
Biden Administration to Soon Lift U.S. Entry Travel Bans for Fully Vaccinated Individuals On September 20, 2021 the Biden Administration announced its plans to rescind travel bans which restrict entry into the U.S. directly from specific geographic areas. Instead of banning travelers coming from specific locations abroad, the U.S. will utilize vaccine status-based restrictions for incoming […]
On Sunday, September 12th, the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft bill that would drastically alter the transfer tax regime and common estate planning strategies. The draft bill is only a proposal at this time. However, it does indicate Congressional action towards increasing the reach of the estate tax and severely limiting certain […]
Wiggin and Dana is proud to announce that Partners Joseph Casino and Michael Kasdan have been named as world-leading IP Strategists in the 2021 edition of the IAM Strategy 300; and Partner Jonathan Harris in the Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading IP Strategists. These unique guides identify the top individuals worldwide who are leading the way in […]
Each year, Wiggin and Dana LLP and LeadingAge Connecticut collaborate to produce a comprehensive summary of new Connecticut laws affecting providers of services for the elderly. The 2021 Legislative Summary reports on a number of new legislative requirements affecting nursing homes, assisted living communities, residential care homes, home health care and other home and community-based […]
Since President Biden took office at the beginning of this year, there has been much buzz and conjecture regarding what the tax policy under the Biden-Harris Administration would look like. In light of the recently released Department of Treasury’s General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals, commonly known as the “Green Book,” […]
Partner John M. Doroghazi co-authored a piece that was published in the American Bar Association‘s latest edition of the Franchise Law Journal. The article goes into depth about various franchise cases and their outcomes. The cases span across a variety of topics including: ArbitrationChoice of ForumContract IssuesDamagesFraudGood Faith and Fair DealingInjunctive ReliefLabor and EmploymentOral AgreementsStatutory […]
An effective way to pass wealth to future generations is through the use of a Dynasty Trust. A Dynasty Trust (sometimes also referred to as a Generation-Skipping Trust), is an irrevocable trust that continues for as long as the applicable state law allows. In addition to using your federal gift tax exemption to fund a […]
Making lifetime gifts now can ensure optimal use of the historically high federal transfer tax exemptions while they are still available. Under current law, the increased estate and gift tax exemption ($13.61 million per person, or $27.22 million for married couples) will go back to the 2017 amounts ($5.49 million per person, or $10.98 million […]
While historically high federal transfer tax exemptions remain in effect, the Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (“SLAT”) remains one of the most effective planning techniques for married clients. A SLAT is an irrevocable trust where the spouse is a permitted beneficiary. It allows married clients to take advantage of the high gift tax exemption amount while […]
Property transferred to a grantor trust (also known as an “intentionally defective grantor trust,” or “IDGT”) is excluded from the value of the grantor’s estate for estate tax purposes at death, but included as part of the grantor’s taxable income during life. This is, in fact, advantageous because payment of the trust’s income tax will […]
Summer 2021 For the charitably inclined, transferring assets during life or at death to a public charity, private foundation and donor-advised fund is an excellent strategy to give back in a tax efficient way. Charitable giving remains a key consideration in a client’s overall estate plan, as distributions from a trust or directly to a […]
Wiggin and Dana and the Wiggin Opportunity Initiative committee have released the first annual WOI Newsletter. In order to celebrate the program’s successful first year, the newsletter highlights stories from select WOI clients, Strategic Partners and the contributions of various attorneys. To read the newsletter, click the PDF below.
Starting October 1, 2021, Connecticut will join a small but growing number of states where employers are now specifically prohibited from inquiring about a prospective employee’s age on the initial employment application, including indirect questions which are designed or which tend to elicit age information. Connecticut law already prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and […]
New Executive Order On August 9, 2021, President Biden expanded the scope of Executive Order 13405 regarding U.S. financial sanctions in connection with Belarus. The sanctions remain list-based, not country-based, which means the prohibitions only extend to parties that the U.S. government designates and any entities in which designated parties directly or indirectly maintain at […]
Senior Counsel Robert Langer and Partner Benjamin Diessel co-authored a piece for the Pricing Conduct Committee of the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section. The article addresses their successful efforts on behalf of their client, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, Inc., to defend the constitutionality of certain Connecticut liquor pricing laws through the […]
Governor Ned Lamont recently signed into law Public Act 21-9, “An Act Concerning Telehealth” (the “Act”), extending the relaxed telehealth provisions that were previously enacted via executive orders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Act took effect on May 10, 2021 and will expire on June 30, 2023. The Governor had previously signed into […]
On June 23, Governor Lamont signed into effect sweeping legislation legalizing recreational marijuana in Connecticut. The legislation made the possession and use of cannabis legal for adults, and contains certain provisions regarding what actions employers may take with regard to employees’ use of recreational cannabis, including drug testing and when an adverse employment action may be […]
Partners David Ring and Tahlia Townsend have co-authored an article published in the World ECR Special Report, The China Question. The article is titled “Growing Pressure on U.S. Universities to Police Against Chinese Influence” and discusses the new set of challenges that have arisen from the United States’ whole-of-government approach to countering the perceived threat […]
Since March 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State (DOS), and Department of Labor (DOL) have issued and/or revised a significant number of rules and policies in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Below is a roundup of the current rules/policies covering the major areas of global mobility impacted by COVID-19. International […]
Partner Tahlia Townsend has written, “The Rising Tide of Maritime Financial Sanctions Risk,” which was recently published in Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 2, Second Quarter 2021. The article addresses the rapidly increasing regulatory risk to the U.S. and global maritime community in relation to U.S. economic sanctions, why the maritime community should be […]
Greetings, Court Fans! We trust you enjoyed a festive Fourth, but we all know summer can’t truly begin until the Supreme Court term comes to an end. The Nine closed up shop on Friday after their “clean-up conference,” granting cert in 10 new cases, including Carson v. Makin (No. 20-1088), a sort of sequel to […]
Let’s get right to it… At issue in Brnovich v. DNC were two restrictions in Arizona’s otherwise fairly permissive voting laws. First, some counties do not count in-person ballots cast on election day if they are cast in the wrong precinct. Second, mail-in ballots can be collected only by an election official or mail carrier, […]
Greetings, Court Fans! In the final day of OT20, the Court handed down its two biggest decisions of the term: In Brnovich v. Arizona (No. 19-1257), the Court held (in a 6-3 decision by Justice Alito, with Justice Kagan leading the dissent), that two of Arizona’s recently enacted voting restrictions do not violate Section 2 […]