Lisa A. Roberts-Mamone

She | Her | Hers

Partner

Cleveland
T +1.216.861.7710
F +1.216.696.0740
Orlando
T +1.407.649.8547
F +1.407.841.0168

"If Lisa has drafted it, you know it is right. She is an incredibly thorough and conscientious lawyer, and she always puts the interests of her clients first."

— Chambers HNW 2021

Overview

Lisa Roberts-Mamone is experienced in the areas of estate planning and wealth transfer for high-net-worth individuals and families. She provides comprehensive guidance to clients involved in complex trust and estate matters, with a special emphasis on working with family offices and multigenerational families.

Lisa is a trusted advisor and counselor to her clients, providing personal attention and support in difficult situations. She is described as "a great implementer," "exceedingly competent," and "very well thought-of" by sources (Chambers HNW 2018). Lisa's clients often require the knowledge of other BakerHostetler lawyers, whom she effectively collaborates with to address all aspects of the situations facing her clients.

Select Experience

  • Serves as the primary legal counsel to a multigenerational family served by a sophisticated family office. Recently assisted the family members with an audit of federal gift and estate tax returns involving a net gift transaction with closely held business interests; revised governing documents for foundations to ensure focused grant-making consistent with the founders' objectives; and advised regarding gifts of closely held business interests using formula clauses to reduce gift tax exposure in connection with potential valuation changes.
  • Assisted the family with the creation of a limited liability company to hold unique real property and the subsequent transfer of interests to trusts for family members. The goal of the plan was to retain real property in the hands of the historic family group for as long as possible without subjecting such property to estate tax. Assisted the family with transfers of additional financial assets to defective grantor trusts that are exempt for generation-skipping tax purposes.
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Experience

  • Serves as the primary legal counsel to a multigenerational family served by a sophisticated family office. Recently assisted the family members with an audit of federal gift and estate tax returns involving a net gift transaction with closely held business interests; revised governing documents for foundations to ensure focused grant-making consistent with the founders' objectives; and advised regarding gifts of closely held business interests using formula clauses to reduce gift tax exposure in connection with potential valuation changes.
  • Assisted the family with the creation of a limited liability company to hold unique real property and the subsequent transfer of interests to trusts for family members. The goal of the plan was to retain real property in the hands of the historic family group for as long as possible without subjecting such property to estate tax. Assisted the family with transfers of additional financial assets to defective grantor trusts that are exempt for generation-skipping tax purposes.
  • Serves as primary legal counsel to trustees of multiple interrelated family trusts. Provides ongoing advice associated with trust administration and fiduciary compliance matters. Recently advised the trustees regarding a consolidated investment policy under applicable law, securities matters related to investments held in sub-trusts for purposes of qualified investor rules, decanting situs change issues associated with irrevocable trust entities, and income "sifting" analysis under domestic and international tax accounting rules.
  • Assists individual and institutional fiduciaries with the administration of complex estates and the creation of multiple family trusts for family members following decedents' deaths. Recently advised a decedent's family with a multitude of business entities following the decedent's death with an insolvent estate. This representation involved the assistance of the firm's general tax team and creditors' rights group.
  • Serves as primary legal counsel for a multigenerational family, undertaking the review and updates of several trust arrangements to designate successor trustee arrangements and exercise powers of appointment to conform documents to current intentions of various family members. Additional matters include creating a qualified residence trust, decanting two older trust arrangements to correct wording of outdated “all gone” clauses, and restructuring family investment partnership to comply with recent Treasury Regulations.
  • Advising matriarch of multi-generational family on the development of a private wealth strategy to transfer majority ownership in a privately held company to a private foundation to both minimize federal estate taxes and permit the company to smoothly transition to a 100%-owned ESOP company. Considerations of the strategy included eliminating both self-dealing and excess business holdings tax issues, and providing sufficient cash flow to the private foundation to satisfy its minimum annual distribution requirement. The representation also involves delicate succession planning issues for the company, the ESOP and the private foundation, making efforts to avoid putting an unreasonable financial strain upon the company.

Recognitions and Memberships

Recognitions

  • The Estate Planning Council of Cleveland: Distinguished Estate Planner Award (2021)
  • Chambers HNW: Private Wealth Law in Ohio
    • Band 1 (2018 to 2022), Band 2 (2016 to 2017)
  • Chambers USA: Wealth Management in Ohio
    • Recognized Practitioner (2014 to 2016)
  • The Best Lawyers in America® (2010 to Present)
    • Ohio: Trusts and Estates
  • Ohio "Super Lawyer" (2014 to 2019)
  • Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent

Memberships

  • National Association of Estate Planners and Councils: Accredited Estate Planner
  • Ohio State Bar Association: Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section
  • Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association: Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section
  • Florida Bar Association: Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
  • Cleveland Estate Planning Discussion Group: Founding Member
  • Estate Planning Council of Cleveland
    • Membership Committee
    • Former Board Member
    • GuideStar Group: Formative Member

Community

  • University Hospitals of Cleveland: Diamond Advisory Board, Former Chair
  • Case Western Reserve University: Chair, Professional Advisory Board
  • American Red Cross of Cleveland: Board of Directors, Planned Giving Advisory Committee
  • Laub Foundation: Trustee
  • American Cancer Society: Northeast Ohio Planned Giving Committee
  • The Cleveland Orchestra: Advisory Board Member
  • College Now Greater Cleveland: Professional Advisory Board

Admissions

  • Ohio
  • Florida

Education

  • J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 1988, magna cum laude; Order of the Coif; Case Western Reserve Law Review, Editor
  • B.A., Grove City College, 1985, magna cum laude