LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Street smart, not foulmouthed

As a longtime veteran of the financial services industry and a registered representative with Nathan & Lewis Securities Inc. for the past eight years, I am offended by reporter Howard Kapiloff’s description of Jay Lewis as “foulmouthed.” (“The most wanted broker in America,” Jan. 26.)

The Jay Lewis I know and admire is matter-of-fact and street smart. He knows this business inside and out. In fact, Jay is one of the most astute businessmen I have ever encountered, and I’m confident my fellow advisers at Nathan & Lewis would feel the same.

Jay is the only company president I have ever dealt with who actually take calls from his reps in the field. While he is matter-of-fact in his approach to his business dealings — a trait I admire — he is not “foulmouthed.” To use such a term denigrates an outstanding businessman and a real gentleman.

WILLIAM H. SHEAVLY

Nathan & Lewis Securities

Virginia Beach, Va.

Trusts for children are still useful

In “IRS proposal will fix millions of IRA trusts” (Jan. 26), you state that trusts as beneficiaries of individual retirement accounts are “necessary only in cases where the IRA owner: names a minor as a beneficiary; wants to ensure the IRA goes to his heirs after his spouse dies; or doesn’t want his heirs to control the management of the money after he dies.”

Actually, in many, if not most estate plans, there are advantages to leaving assets to children in trust rather than outright. The assets will not be included in the children’s estates for estate tax purposes. In addition, the assets are protected against the children’s spouses and creditors.

The same benefits apply in the case of IRAs as well as other assets. In addition, since all IRA distributions are subject to income tax, a trust provides the additional flexibility of being able to make distributions to children or grandchildren, or accumulating the income in the trust.

Ever since the IRS issued Revenue Rulin
g 95-58, which permits the beneficiary of a trust to be able to change the trustees, trusts for children are even more useful than before.

BRUCE D. STEINER

Attorney

Kleinberg Kaplan Wolff & Cohen

New York

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