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November 18, 2022

New ABA book explores fraudulent transfer laws and their application in today’s environment

CHICAGO, Nov. 18, 2022 — The American Bar Association Business Law Section has released a new book, “The Fraudulent Transfer of Wealth: Unwound and Explained,” that examines the intersection between fraudulent transfer laws across the states and their application to modern-day wealth transfer planning transactions.

Fraudulent transfer laws refer to statutes enacted by states that establish the rights of creditors against debtors where it appears the debtor fraudulently transferred property to avoid paying creditors. Typically, such action is a civil legal matter and can also occur within the context of federal bankruptcy proceedings. “The Fraudulent Transfer of Wealth” provides a comprehensive history explaining how these laws have been applied, examines wealth transfer planning and identifies issues for wealth transfer planners and creditors, among other topics.

Author David J. Slenn also outlines steps that planners can take to minimize a transaction's exposure to avoidance; proactive measures that creditors can take to reduce the chance of losing assets; and legal measures to make the creditor whole. Actual scenarios illustrate where advisers have faced liability for their role in frustrating a creditor's claim.

“The Fraudulent Transfer of Wealth” includes an extensive listing of case law that allows creditors to analyze new strategies through analogy to old tricks. This guide will also help wealth transfer planners navigate complex fraudulent transfer laws to ensure the effective transfer of wealth and boost their clients’ portfolios.

Slenn is a partner in the Naples and Tampa, Florida, offices of Akerman LLP. He focuses his practice on tax, estate and business planning with an emphasis on risk management. He was an ABA adviser to the Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Voidable Transactions Act Drafting Committee and chair of the ABA Asset Protection Planning Committee. He is also the author of “Captive Insurance Deskbook for the Business Lawyer” published by the Business Law Section.

Title:                              The Fraudulent Transfer of Wealth: Unwound and Explained”
Publisher:                     ABA Business Law Section
Pages:                           284 pages
Product Code:             
5070811
ISBN:                             978-1- 63905-193-9
Size:                              7x10
Binding:                        Paperback
Price:                             $89.95
Orders:                          800-285-2221 or Shopaba.org

Praise for “The Fraudulent Transfer of Wealth: Unwound and Explained”

“When it comes to fraudulent-transfer doctrine in all its complexity and at all its various practice intersections, we now have the luxury of one-stop shopping in David Slenn’s new comprehensive desk reference. This day has been long in coming with the immensely useful historical, jurisprudential and political context that is included. Each perspective — the debtor’s and the creditor’s — is given fair treatment. Relevant equitable principles, both substantive and procedural, are fully explored in the fraudulent-transfer space, as is the coexistence of applicable statute and case law. The civil and the criminal; the tort and the contract; the scholarly and the practical — it is all under one roof. To the conscientious, self-motivated law student and to the busy practitioner, I recommend “The Fraudulent Transfer of Wealth” enthusiastically and without reservation.”— Professor Charles E. Rounds Jr., Research Professor of Law, Suffolk University Law School, and co-author of “Loring and Rounds: A Trustee’s Handbook” (2023)  

Editor’s note: Author interviews and review copies of this book are available by emailing Katrina Krause at [email protected]. If you publish a review of this book, please send tear sheets or a copy for our files to Katrina Krause, ABA Business Law Section, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60654.

The ABA is the largest voluntary association of lawyers in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.