Dear Nikola,

Thank you for your letter. Although you didn't ask me, I can't resist commenting that to the best of my knowledge the disclaimers authorized by the Federal Internal Revenue Code are made subsequent to the death of the testator. I have never seen a reference to an anticipatory or prospective disclaimer. Hypothetically such a prospective disclaimer might be permitted by State law, but I would want to be sure before relying on it. If you predeceased your uncle, and if I were an attorney representing your heirs, I would contest as invalid in favor of your heirs, any disclaimer you had prospectively made. Before you refer my argument to your parents, please consider whether you should conceal your consultation with me on this point from them, in order to avoid offending them, which, as you know, I am very much loath to do.

With respect to your question about Covid-19 testing,
a) I hesitate to offer an opinion because I consider both the scientifically based and the politically motivated advice we have received about this disease to be so illogical and inconsistent as to be useless.

b) My inclination would be to defer being tested for Covid-19
b1) until such time as you became clinically ill and a specific therapeutic decision hinged on thhe demonstrability of the virus, or
b2) until you were required by State regulation to present evidence of a negative test to forego the need for quarantine.

c) As you know:
c1) Infection with the virus fluctuates. It may be gone today and here tomorrow, and vice versa. To be confident of negative virus tests, one would need to repeat them at least daily.
c2) Failure to detect the virus would reduce the risk of contagion but not to zero, since the test is not 100% sensitive.  Furthermore, even a positive test would not make contagion certain, since other unspecified and unmeasured factors are entailed.

If you have questions, please feel free to telephone. Stay healthy and content.

EJM