The Wealth Transfer Group is a consulting firm that provides estate planning services. They serve only clients with estates worth more than US$10,000,000.
In 2006, the Wealth Transfer Group sued former Aetna CEO John Rowe for infringement of a tax patent.Norris Floyd, "Patent Law is Getting Tax Crazy", International Herald Tribune, October 19, 2006 The patent, , entitled "Establishing and managing grantor retained annuity trusts funded by nonqualified stock options", covers WTG's SOGRAT (Stock Option Grantor Retained Annuity Trust) system of minimizing gift tax.Nowotarski, Mark, "Tax Strategies?", Insurance IP Bulletin, October 15, 2006 The case has been settled for undisclosed terms.Herman, Tom, "Patents on Tax-Related Ideas Stir Worry", Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2007
The SOGRAT case is often cited both by those that favor tax patentsGruner, Richard, "Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures of the House Committee on Ways and Means" July 13, 2006 as well as those that seek to have them banned."Tax-Strategy Patents and the Tax Gap", The Tax Advisor, AICPA, May 2007
On January 12, 2011, the director of the USPTO initiated a reexamination of US patent 6,567,790.Gene Quinn, "Patent Office Orders Reexamination of Tax Related Patent" IPwatchdog, January 20, 2011 The reexamination serial number is 90/009,868.
See also Tax patent
References
External links Wealth Transfer Group home page