FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

By Mark S. Poochigian, Esq.^*

While Quarterly articles may come in all shapes and sizes, my personal favorites are articles that generally fall into one of two categories, co-equals in my mind. They are my favorites because I suspect that they are the types of articles that are most useful to the greatest number of our Section members. The first category is articles that focus on areas of the law that arise regularly in our practices (some simple, some complex), but about which little practical advice has been written; articles in this category tend to become useful reference material for Section members. There are a number of Quarterly articles— some going back many years—that we know Section members routinely consult when an issue discussed by the article arises in practice. The second category is articles that address an issue on the "cutting edge" of our area of practice. Articles of this second category are of great benefit to Section members and readers because of their timeliness, providing an opportunity for readers to take advantage of the research and expertise of the author on a new or emerging area of the law. The Quarterly is proud to publish three articles in this issue, all of which I think fall squarely into one of these two categories.

As always, I am grateful to our authors for their excellent contributions. Experienced practitioners and those who are new to our trusts and estates field alike will benefit greatly from two articles in this issue falling into the first category mentioned above:

• Elizabeth Pierson—the Quarterly’s current Executive Editor and its soon-to-be Editor-in-Chief—has teamed with Joan Cotkin, Michael Heumann, and Douglas Schwartz on a thorough examination of issues relevant to practitioners who advise art collectors. Trusts and estates practitioners will be interested in application of familiar transfer tax concepts to what for many practitioners is an unfamiliar world of art collection, and will also benefit from the discussion of issues like provenance, authenticity, and income tax considerations that—while not strictly "trusts and estates" issues—are the types of things that trusts and estates practitioners are well-served to know.
• The collaboration of TEXCOM colleague David Knitter and Mary deLeo results in a practical article on the difficult problem of proving substantial inability to resist undue influence (one of the grounds for the establishment of a conservatorship), including advice for practitioners on how to present the allegations persuasively. The problem of undue influence continues to grow as the population ages, as does the need for practitioners to be aware of the tools available to protect clients and their loved ones.