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info@kasner.org
+1 (408) 688-2014
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
info@kasner.org
+1 (408) 688-2014
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053
Joseph Bragdon is Vice President at Financial Architects Partners. He specializes in analyzing complex life insurance planning strategies for our clients and their advisors. Joe joined Financial Architects Partners in 2009 and made a dynamic impact to the firm’s analytical and case design capabilities in our Boston office. In his current role in their Palo Alto office, Joe advises clients and advisors on how life insurance planning strategies impact overall financial goals. In addition, he continues to be a presence in the Bay Area investment and wealth advisor community as a CFA Charterholder and member of the CFA Society of San Francisco. Joe seeks to highlight life insurance’s qualities as an alternative asset class and strategic planning tool to the advisor community. Most recently Joe co-authored the article “Current Trends in Life Insurance Choices and Strategies” published in the March, 2015 edition of Estate Planning. Joe has a bachelor’s degree in International Business
Kristin Bulat leads the Strategic Resources department at NFP. She is a tax attorney with a JD and an LLM in taxation. Prior to joining NFP, Kristin worked as associate counsel for John Hancock Life Insurance Company, where she developed a reputation as an industry leader in her field. She began her career as a tax and estate planning attorney in Boston. Throughout her career, Kristin has been responsible for implementing complicated tax plans for individuals while guiding business development. She is a sought-after speaker within her industry and travels regularly in that capacity. Kristin is a member of the PartnersFinancial board and serves on the Women’s Development and Legislative Committees for AALU.
Patricia A. Cain is Professor of Law at Santa Clara University and the Aliber Family Chair in Law, Emerita, at the University of Iowa. She is a graduate of Vassar College and received her J.D. from the University of Georgia. Professor Cain is a member of the American Law Institute and a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. She is a frequent speaker at CLE events around the country. She teaches courses in federal taxation, property, wills and trusts, estate planning, and sexuality and the law. Most of her recent scholarship focuses on tax planning for same-sex couples. She maintains a blog called Same Sex Tax Law.
Samuel A. Donaldson joined GSU Law in 2012. Professor Donaldson teaches a number of tax and estate planning courses, as well as courses in the areas of property, commercial law and professional responsibility. He is a nationally recognized speaker on federal taxation and estate planning at professional conferences and continuing education seminars. Professor Donaldson is an Academic Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the Bar in Washington, Oregon, and Arizona. Among his scholarly works, he is a co-author of the popular West casebook, Federal Income Tax: A Contemporary Approach, and a co-author of the Price on Contemporary Estate Planning treatise published by Wolters Kluwer.
Darin H. Donovan is a shareholder in Hopkins & Carley’s family wealth and tax planning group, resident in the firm’s Palo Alto office. His practice includes estate and trust planning, charitable planning, estate and trust administration, and related litigation. Mr. Donovan also practices in the area of nonprofit entity formation and counseling. He is an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University, where he teaches federal estate and gift tax, and estate planning. He is a member of the Silicon Valley Bar Association and the Palo Alto Area Bar Association. Mr. Donovan earned his A.B. degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his J.D. degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley.
John F. Doyle brings to WealthPLAN, PC over eight years of litigation experience. Prior to joining WealthPLAN, Mr. Doyle worked at a mid-sized litigation firm in Sacramento. Mr. Doyle earned his J.D. from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, in 2009 and his undergraduate from Loyola Mary-mount University in 2003. Before attending McGeorge School of Law, Mr. Doyle worked as a fund accountant for a custodial bank. He became Partner in 2014, joining his father, Francis B. Doyle. He is a member of the Santa Clara County Bar Association, Silicon Valley Bar Association, and the American Bar Association.
Abby L.T. Feinman is head of the Los Angeles Trusts and Estates practice at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP and is a member of both the firm’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Abby provides trusted counsel nationally and internationally on sophisticated tax planning, charitable planning, post-death administration and controversies concerning trusts and estates. She advises high net worth individuals and families with bicoastal and global connections, closely held business owners, private equity fund managers, real estate entrepreneurs, art collectors and corporate fiduciaries. Abby uses creative strategies to assist her clients in meeting their goals. As a result of her client base, she is experienced with matters surrounding transfer taxes. She also advises on matters involving charitable giving and the formation of private foundations. She is a frequent lecturer on various topics, including trust decanting, cross-border issues, advanced estate planning techniques, charitable giving with non-cash assets, tax planning opportunities using private annuity sales, supercharging qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), and tax and transfer planning for art collectors.
Lara Gilman is the Chair of the Private Client Group at Farella Braun & Martel, where she counsels individuals and families on estate and succession planning. Lara has extensive experience integrating and simplifying the complexities of wealth succession strategy and execution for individuals, families and businesses. She specializes in advising high net worth clients, frequently acting as a de facto general counsel, often in concert with a family office. In this role, she advises clients on a broad range of legal topics related to their personal, business and financial activities.
Marguerite H. Griffin is a Senior Vice President at The Northern Trust Company, Chicago. As National Director of Philanthropic Services, Marguerite is responsible for the delivery and growth of Northern Trust’s philanthropic services to Personal Financial Services clients. She specializes in administering charitable trusts and private foundations and counsels clients regarding charitable giving and grant-making practices. Marguerite received a B.A. degree from Washington University in St. Lou-is and a J.D. degree from Northwestern University School of Law. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Council on Planned Giving and the Chicago Estate Planning Council. Marguerite is admitted to practice before the Illinois Supreme Court. Marguerite has received recognition from Chicago United as a 2007 Business Leader of Color.
Laurelle M. Gutierrez is a partner at McDermott Will & Emery. She has a diverse practice representing high-net worth individuals and their families with respect to all aspects of gift, estate and generation-skipping wealth-transfer tax planning, as well as trust and estate administration. Laurelle has extensive experience in the design and implementation of sophisticated intergenerational wealth-transfer planning strategies. She advises domestic and multinational high-net-worth clients and families to develop innovative solutions around wealth transfer, philanthropic giving and multifaceted estate planning needs.
Michael J. Jones is a partner in Monterey, California’s Thompson Jones LLP. His tax consulting practice focuses on tax-efficient wealth transfer strategy, trust and probate tax matters (both administration and controversy resolution), and family business transitions. Mike is the author of four books, including Inheriting an IRA and Inheriting an IRA Professional Edition. He has written over 160 articles published in Trusts & Estates, Leimberg Information Services, Inc., Ed Slott’s IRA Newsletter, WealthWatch.com, and elsewhere. He serves as chair of Trusts & Estates magazine’s Retirement Benefits Committee and the CPE Forum of the Central Coast.
Patrick A. Kohlmann is the managing partner at Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann. Patrick advises individuals and families in all aspects of wealth transfer planning, including tax-advantaged transfers of assets, multi-generational planning, the taxation of trusts and estates, and business succession counseling. Patrick is passionate about the law. He was Chair of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section (TEXCOM) of the State Bar of California (now CLA) from 2015-2016, and continues to serve on TEXCOM. He is also a member of the Judicial Council’s Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee, a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estates Counsel, and has consistently been named a Northern California “Super Lawyer.”
Tim Kay is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law, California Board of Legal Specialization. He is a partner and co-practice group leader Snell & Wilmer LLP's Private Client Services practice group. Tim’s practice is concentrated in tax, trust, and estate matters with emphasis in estate planning, trust and probate administration, and estate and gift taxation. He employs advanced estate planning techniques, including grantor retained annuity trusts, family partnerships, limited liability companies, charitable remainder trusts, defective grantor trusts, insurance planning, and the creation, qualification and funding of public charities and private foundations.
Andrea Kushner is a Senior Vice President and Director of the Wealth Strategies Group and is located in Bernstein’s Los Angeles office. She works with Bernstein clients and their professional advisors to develop comprehensive wealth management and wealth transfer strategies. Before joining the firm in 2015, Andi was a shareholder at Weinstock Manion, ALC, and a partner at Karlin & Peebles LLP, advising high-net-worth clients on estate, tax and charitable planning. She is a member of the State Bar of California, by which she has been certified as a specialist in both taxation law and estate planning, trust and probate law. Andi was named a Southern California Rising Star and a Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers Magazine. She currently serves on the executive committee (trusts and estates section) of the Beverly Hills Bar Association and is a member of both the taxation and trusts and estates sections of the Los Angeles County Bar Association.
Julie Miraglia Kwon is a partner based in Silicon Valley with the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP. She advises clients regarding estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues; charitable planning and exempt organization compliance; trust and estate administration; and contested trust and tax matters. Julie is co-author of the tax treatise, “Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax” (by Harrington, Plaine, Zaritsky & Kwon, for Warren Gorham & Lamont), and the Tax Management Portfolio titled “Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax” (by Harrington & Kwon, for Bureau of National Affairs). Chambers USA has individually ranked Julie nationally as a leading wealth management lawyer. She is a Fellow elected to the American College of Trusts & Estates Counsel. She also is a current Supervisory Council Member for the Real Property, Trust & Estate Section of the American Bar Association, and past Chair of the Income & Transfer Tax Planning Group and Estate & Gift Tax Committee, and past co-chair of the GST Tax Committee, of the Section.
Paul S. Lee is the Global Fiduciary Strategist and Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Wealth Management and the Global Family & Private Investment Offices Group of The Northern Trust Company. Paul is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), has been in-ducted into the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame®, and designated an Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished). He is on the Editorial Board of The Practical Tax Lawyer, a member of the Advisory Committee of the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Bloomberg BNA Estates, Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board, the University of Florida Tax Institute Advisory Board, and the Wilson Society Advisory Council for the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Dennis Leonard joined Ramsbacher, Prokey and Leonard as an associate in 2005 and became a partner in January of 2015. His practice emphasizes sophisticated estate and tax planning for high net worth individuals, tax controversies and litigation, and advising trustees and private fiduciaries. Dennis is a frequent speaker at programs organized by the State Bar of California and the California Society of CPAs. He is licensed to practice in both California and Texas, is a previous member of the Executive Committee of the State Bar of California’s Taxation Section, and is the former chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Sub-Committee. Dennis is currently a member of the American Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Section, the Silicon Valley Bar Association, and the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council.
Syida is a Vice President in the Goldman Sachs Family Office Wealth Advisory Services Group. She provides tax and wealth transfer planning services to clients to help them organize, analyze, and plan their financial futures. She advises clients on developing and implementing innovative and customized strategies combining their family and philanthropic goals with income, estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning considerations. She has lectured at various tax conferences sponsored by universities, state bar associations and estate planning councils. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a member of the San Francisco Estate Planning Council and is on the board of the San Francisco Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Tim Macholz is a Vice President in Houlihan Lokey’s Technology • Media • Telecom (TMT) Group. He has contributed to over a dozen closed transactions as a part of Houlihan Lokey’s TMT Group, exclusively focused in the software space. Mr. Macholz is based in the firm’s San Francisco office. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Macholz worked as an Investment Banking Analyst for ArchPoint Partners, where his responsibilities centered around M&A advisory, financings, valuation, and strategic advisory engagements for middle-market firms in the software, SaaS, and technology markets. Before ArchPoint Partners, Mr. Macholz worked as an analyst at the venture capital firm Mosaik Partners. Focused on commerce-enabling technology, he assisted in transaction diligence, primary and secondary market research, financial modeling, fund performance analysis, and identifying new investment opportunities. He began his career as a Research Analyst for Reed Elsevier’s research department. Mr. Macholz holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a M.S. from University College, Oxford.
Camelia Mahmoudi is a sole practitioner in the areas of Estate Planning, Tax, and Family Law. She is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law from the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. She received her JD from SCU Law and LL.M. in Taxation from Golden Gate University. Ms. Mahmoudi was selected as a Northern California “Super Lawyer” by “Super Lawyer” magazine, and San Francisco magazine for 2014 through 2018 and as a “Rising Star” for 2012 and 2013. Ms. Mahmoudi served as President of the Santa Clara County Estate Planning Council Board of Directors (2015-2016). Currently, she serves on the Santa Clara County Judicial Committee, and Kasner Estate Planning Symposium Planning Committee. She has also been an adjunct professor at Santa Clara University, Lincoln School of Law, and De Anza College. Ms. Mahmoudi is admitted to the U.S. District Court Northern District of California, and U.S. Tax Court.
Carlyn S. McCaffrey is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP and is co-head of the private client practice in the Firm’s New York office. She focuses her practice on tax and estate planning. Carlyn frequently lectures on subjects relating to tax law, trusts and estates, foreign trusts and matrimonial law. She also writes extensively on these topics, and is the co-author of “Structuring the Tax Consequences of Marriage and Divorce.” Carlyn is a fellow and a past president of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel, a member of the International Academy of Trust & Estate Counsel and a member of the Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Act of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform Laws, a member of the Advisory Commit-tee of the University of Miami’s Phillip Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, and a member of the Adjunct faculty of the University of Miami Law School.
Junaid Mohiuddin leads the fast growth technology SaaS work for McKinsey globally, helping privately held companies under $500 million in revenue grow their enterprise value. He advises CEOs, founders, and their investors to scale growth through improved customer acquisition, pricing, customer success, and strategic initiatives. His clients have achieved IPOs, successful M&A exits, and fund-raising that have exceeded expectations on growth and valuation. Junaid brings two decades of operating experience working in Silicon Valley across a wide range of roles. Among his many duties, he has developed product and company strategy, brought many products to market, run strategic planning and business operations to grow faster, and executed mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining the fast growth tech team, Junaid helped his last Silicon Valley-based SaaS start-up achieve a successful IPO on NASDAQ. In addition to his degree from Northwestern University, Junaid completed courses in management science at the school of engineering at Stanford University.
Annette Nellen, CPA, Esq., is a professor in and director of San José State University’s graduate tax pro-gram (MST), teaching courses in tax research, accounting methods, individual tax, property transactions, employment tax, ethics, and tax policy. Annette is active in the tax sections of the AICPA, ABA and California Lawyers Association. She authors Bloomberg BNA Tax Portfolio #533, Amortization of Intangibles, and the State Tax Notes Moving Forward. She has testified several times before various legislative committees and tax reform commissions on tax policy and reform. Annette runs the 21st Century Taxation website and blog.
Jeff Ostrum is the Managing Principal of the Financial Architects Partners West Coast operation based in Palo Alto. He relocated from the Boston office in 2006, and now he and his team actively manage large life insurance portfolios for approximately 100 families. Jeff is often referred to families by their estate planning attorneys, family offices, tax planners, and wealth managers who seek to optimize the performance of life insurance as a planning tool and/or asset class. He often presents at national industry events and is routinely engaged by other life insurance professionals to manage their most complex client matters. He has presented multiple times at the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium and the Annual Meeting of the CA Tax Bar and CA Tax Policy Conference. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for the San Francisco Foundation and Project Cornerstone of Silicon Valley (YMCA) and is a proud supporter of the Melanoma Program (and SUNSPORT) at the Stanford Cancer Center.
John W. Prokey is the managing partner of the of Ramsbacher Prokey & Leonard LLP. He leads a diverse practice emphasizing estate and wealth planning, trust administration, and tax controversy for high net worth individuals, families, and closely held business owners. He regularly advises clients regarding the preparation and implementation of their basic estate plans (including drafting revocable trusts, wills, powers of attorney, advanced health care directives, and related documents). In addition to estate planning, John advises clients on family wealth planning, a multi-generational approach to protecting and preserving wealth through the use of sophisticated planning techniques. A significant portion of his practice is devoted to representing estate administrators and trustees on matters involving post-death administration and irrevocable trusts.
Geniveve J. Ruskus is a partner in the family law group of Lakin Spears, LLP, a boutique law firm servicing Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and technology pioneers. Although her early career focused on family law litigation, Geniveve’s current practice emphasizes consensual dispute resolution. Geniveve serves as a mediator for couples considering marriage, entering into marital agreements (“post-nups”), and also those who are navigating divorce. Geniveve is a Fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and is currently the President Elect of the Northern California chapter. She has been certified as a Specialist in family law since 2003 and is also a member of California’s Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS). She has been named a Northern California “Super Lawyer” every year since 2006 and has frequently been named as one of the Northern California’s “Top 50 Women Lawyers” across all practice areas.
David Sacarelos works at Seiler LLP and has 30 years of experience providing advisory and tax services to ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, partnerships, non-profit organizations and privately-held businesses. He holds expertise in income, tax, estate, and financial planning and consulting for complex tax and financial transactions. His clients include multi-generational families, corporate executives, founders, and investors. David joined Seiler in 1987. He holds a Master’s degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting from San Jose State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in California and serves on the Planning Committee of the Jerry A. Kasner Estate Planning Symposium.
Brian L. Shetler, BA, MA, JD, LLM-Tax, is a trusts & estates partner in the 60+ attorney firm Berliner Cohen LLP. Mr. Shetler’s practice is focused on tax planning and estate administration issues, including cross-border arrangements. A former bank trust officer, Mr. Shetler works with fiduciaries as well as families and individuals in establishing and carrying out plans to preserve and build legacies for generations.
Vivian Lee Thoreen is the executive partner of Holland & Knight’s Los Angeles office and chairs the firm’s national Private Wealth Services Dispute Resolution Team. She is a litigator and experienced trial attorney whose practice – both in Superior Court and in the California Courts of Appeal – focuses on complex trust, estate, conservatorship and guardianship matters. She represents individuals, families, charities and financial institutions in cases including will and trust disputes, contested conservatorships and guardianships, breach of fiduciary duty matters, and elder abuse matters. She just completed a six-year term on the California Lawyers Association (formerly the State Bar of California) Trusts & Estates Section executive committee and previously served on the board of governors of the Korean American Bar Association and the board of directors of the Los Angeles County Bar Foundation. She also is an active member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
Ray works primarily with high net worth individuals and closely held businesses and advises on matters related to income tax planning and compliance, estate planning and charitable giving at Andersen Tax. Ray serves a variety of clients ranging from large family groups with family offices to entrepreneurs building their wealth. Ray also collaborates closely with clients’ attorneys and investment advisers to help clients optimize their financial and tax planning results. Before joining Andersen Tax, Ray was with Arthur Andersen and KPMG in San Francisco and Seattle. Ray has lectured on income and estate tax matters for the California CPA Education Foundation, USC Tax Institute, Golden Gate University and a variety of other professional venues. He also is a contributor to the tax treatise Tax Economics of Charitable Giving.
Leigh Wasson brings 28 years of investment management and client relationship experience to her role as a Senior Wealth Director at BNY Mellon Wealth Management where she collaborates with team members and advisors to develop and implement comprehensive wealth management solutions for entrepreneurs, founders, executives, philanthropists and their family members. Leigh’s areas of specialization include working with business owners and founders to accelerate the value of their businesses. Leigh is a member of the Board of Directors of The Japan Society of Northern California, a member of the Advisory Board of Astia and is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor. Leigh earned her BBA in Finance from The University of Texas and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Sha Zhang joined Deloitte Tax LLP in January 2016 from our London office and practices in our Private Wealth industry. She specializes in serving international and domestic high net worth individuals and families, including income tax planning and compliance for domestic and cross-border families, foreign trust income taxation, pre-immigration planning, taxation relating to individual expatriation, and related information reporting. Having previously worked in London for over eight years as a “dual handler” practicing in both UK and US individual income taxes, Sha has significant experience in dealing with the interaction between US and foreign tax systems and helping clients manage tax compliance obligations in multiple jurisdictions and achieve their optimal global taxposition. Sha also leads our Private Wealth cryptocurrency practice and serves cryptocurrency investors, founders of cryptocurrency funds and founders of blockchain businesses.
Laura Zeigler is Principal and Fiduciary Counsel at Bessemer Trust. In this role, she is responsible for working with clients and their advisors to develop practical and efficient wealth transfer plans, and for guiding the firm on fiduciary issues. Prior to joining Bessemer, Laura was an attorney in the Trusts and Estates department of Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP. Before that, she worked for Judge Blackburn on the Georgia Court of Appeals as a law clerk. She serves as Professional Advisory Board Member of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Laura was nominated as a finalist for the Los Angeles Business Journal Corporate Counsel of the Year in 2012-2015, and has been listed as a Southern California Rising Star in Estate Planning and Trusts in Los Angeles magazine. Laura earned an LL.M. in taxation from Boston University School of Law, a J.D., salutatorian and magna cum laude, from John Marshall Law School, and a B.A. from Southern Methodist University.
ABOUT THE 15TH ANNUAL JERRY A. KASNER ESTATE PLANNING SYMPOSIUM
