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With 18 offices, from New York to Los Angeles and Seattle to Orlando, we live and work in communities all over the U.S., collaborating across locations, disciplines and even borders. Our experienced, highly ranked lawyers serve businesses wherever they are and wherever they want to go.

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Am Law 100 firm with practices in Business, Digital Assets and Data Management, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Litigation and Tax.

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John Carney Chairs and Speaks, Jimmy Fokas Speaks at PLI Basics of Accounting for Lawyers 2025

Webinar Series: Transforming Legacy Management Experience

Rebecca Schrote Presents on APEX Depositions at Columbus Bar Association CLE Session

To Help the New Administration Help Your Industry, You Need an Agency Strategy (Real Estate Finance Journal)

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A family’s legacy is built on tailored planning designed to serve multiple generations. We provide advice on planning with trusts and other entities to achieve tax efficient protection asset and management. Legacy planning often starts with gifting of assets and can involve a wide array of techniques and structures. Our lawyers are experienced in all types of gifting vehicles, which often combine trusts with partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. We coordinate a client’s lifetime gifting strategies with their estate planning documents to achieve continuity of management and tax savings over several generations.

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Each of our Private Wealth lawyers is a trained tax attorney. We rely on our keen tax understanding in structuring a family’s estate plan to maximize economic benefits for future generations. When it is necessary to deal directly with the Internal Revenue Service or state taxing authorities, our lawyers are experienced in taking the lead role in audits, appeals, and court proceedings. We look for opportunities to work with a client’s accountants and other advisers because we believe the best results are obtained through collaborative efforts.

In many cases, family legacy planning involves the use of family-controlled charities. We understand the critical importance of philanthropy as a family objective and can arrange gifts that are most tax advantageous. We counsel families on how to use charitable entities to further their values and charitable interests.

Many of BakerHostetler’s largest and most successful clients are family-owned businesses. We understand the importance of carefully drawn corporate governing documents, including buy-sell agreements, transfer restrictions, and voting/non-voting stock, but more importantly we are attuned to the personal dynamics inherent in a family-owned business. Our clients value this combination of legal experience and practical, sensitive counsel.

One of our strengths is integrating a client’s business ownership with family legacy planning. We work with families and their other advisers to create corporate governance structures and procedures while adhering to family dynamics and objectives. In drafting long-term trusts, we often suggest the use of Family Business Advisers and/or Trust Protectors to vote company stock owned in trust. We understand the importance of providing special protections for a trustee if a trust owns a concentrated position in a family-owned business.

The decision whether to transfer ownership and/or control of a family business to the next generation is one of the most important, but often most challenging, decisions facing a senior generation business owner. Our team has guided many companies through this process and often utilizes sophisticated techniques to achieve maximum tax benefits. Clients especially appreciate our quantitative analysis, which assists in choosing among the best approach available to transfer value.

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The Legacy Journey…Our Team Philosophy.  What Makes Us Unique.

<ul>
<li>Chambers HNW
<ul>
<li>Private Wealth Law – Colorado (2016 to 2023)</li>
<li>Family/Matrimonial: High Net Worth – Ohio (2021 to 2023)</li>
<li>Private Wealth Law – Ohio (2016 to 2023)</li>
<li>Private Wealth Law – Washington, D.C. (2019 to 2023)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” – National Rankings
<ul>
<li>Trusts &amp; Estates (2012 to 2025)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>


James A. Loeb

Edward J. Beckwith

Robert R. Galloway

Christopher D. Fidler

Suzanne M. Jambe

George T. Mooradian

David L. Starbuck

Jennifer L. Eschedor

Chad W. Makuch

Joseph F. Verciglio

Lisa A. Roberts-Mamone

Michael R. Stiff

Samantha M. White

James S. Judd

Lisa B. Canarick

Jonathan M. Forster

Rebecca S. Manicone

Keith C. Durkin

Matthew W. Stevens

Carmela T. Montesano

John F. DeStefano

Donald B. Hutchins

Kevin R. McKinnis

Patrick R. Donahue

Alyssa L. Tiebout

Kristin L. Yokomoto

Sarah E. Baley

Jacob D. Millis

Hillary Hammond Cook

Alexander C. Campbell

Sophie C. Mondor

George R. McCormick

Kyle P. Graham

Kenneth Little

Denise E. Chambliss

Louis C. Cusano

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Cleveland

Orlando

‘Guidance in Distinguishing a Trust Reformation from a Trust Contest: Packard v. Packard’ (Daily Journal)

Estate and Tax Planning for Globally Mobile Clients

Estate and Tax Planning for Globally Mobile Clients: Purchasing U.S. Real Estate by Non-U.S. Persons

Estate and Tax Planning for Globally Mobile Clients: Estate and trust planning by non-Americans for American family members

Estate and Tax Planning for Globally Mobile Clients: Pre-immigration Planning for Moving to the United States

BakerHosts

Legacy Management – A Different Approach to an Age-Old Business

Kristin Yokomoto Discusses Ethical Considerations in the Estate Planning World on Podcast

BakerHostetler Unveils Revolutionary Estate Planning Fintech Application in Private Wealth Law

Ted Bernert and Dave Ebersole Speak at Annual Ohio Tax Conference

High Net Worth Guide Shows Increases in Rankings and Multiple Band 1 Positions

Kyle Gee Introduces CLE on Advanced Probate and Estate Planning

Kristin Yokomoto Appointed to California Lawyers Association Executive Committee

John DeStefano Discusses Trusts as S Corporation Shareholders

14 BakerHostetler Private Wealth Attorneys Recognized in 2022 Chambers High Net Worth Guide

Per-Account or Per-Form Penalty?

Edward Beckwith a Featured Speaker at Yale Richards Professional Education Seminar

John DeStefano a Presenter for Webinar on Trusts as S Corporation Shareholders

Jonathan Forster Speaks on Trends, Opportunities in Estate Planning

Edward Beckwith Chairs Two-Day Session of Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute

Jeffrey Paravano, Brian Davis, Jonathan Forster, Morgan Holtman, James Judd Discuss House Committee Tax Proposals

House and Senate Advance President Biden’s Far-Reaching 2021 Tax Changes

Kyle Gee Speaks on Electronic Documents and Estate Planning

Kyle Gee Co-Chairs Probate and Estate Planning Seminar; Chad Makuch a Speaker

Jonathan Forster Speaks on Data Analytics and Legacy Planning

Lisa Roberts-Mamone, Kevin McKinnis Speak on Income Tax Proposals

Kristin Yokomoto Article Discusses Need for Law Firms to Carefully Vet Their Vendors

15 BakerHostetler Private Wealth Attorneys Recognized in 2021 Chambers High Net Worth Guide

Jonathan Forster, Alyssa Shook Discuss Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts

Jeff Paravano, Jonathan Forster Discuss Proposed Tax Reform

Jeff Paravano Comments on Proposed Tax Changes and Potential Effects on Wealth Planning

Kristin L. Yokomoto Joins BakerHostetler’s Private Wealth Practice

Edward Beckwith, Carmela Montesano, Betsy Smith Discuss Wealth Planning, Family Governance

The Legacy Journey…Our Team Philosophy. What Makes Us Unique.

Getting Ready: What You Need to Know About Preparing Your Legacy Plan.

Edward Beckwith Article Examines Estate Tax Deductions

When Opportunity is Knocking: Legacy Planning with Low Interest Rates, Volatile Markets and High Transfer Tax Exemptions

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