Withers Worldwide

• Education: Fairleigh Dickinson University, magna cum laude, B.A. • Rutgers University School of Law, Tax Law Honors, Campbell Scholar • Rutgers Graduate School of Management, M.B.A. • New York University School of Law, Taxation, LL.M.
• Admitted: State of NJ, 1993 • State of NY, 1995 • State of CT, 2006 • Registered Foreign Lawyer in the UK, 2007
• Year joined: 2005
• Year became partner: 2007

Overview

Todd’s practice is focused on tax, trusts and estates, and business succession matters for wealthy individuals and their families.  He regularly advises domestic and international families and family offices with respect to creating trust and related business structures to preserve, protect and grow family wealth for multiple generations in a tax efficient manner.  

Todd has significant experience working with clients to structure US and international wealth preservation vehicles such as Family Limited Partnerships, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Sales to Intentionally "Defective" Grantor Trusts, Foreign Grantor Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Buy-Sell Agreements and Preferred Freeze Partnerships.  He also advises clients on business succession matters, with a particular emphasis on navigating the various tax pitfalls under Chapter 14 of the Code.  In addition, Todd's practice also involves the preparation of estate planning documents for clients including "tax-sensitive" Wills and Revocable Trusts, Generation-Skipping Dynasty Trusts and Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts.  Todd also has considerable experience in advising Hedge Fund and Private Equity Fund professionals with respect to transferring carried interests into multi-generational trusts for the benefit of younger family members in a tax-efficient manner.

Todd is a frequent contributor to Trusts and Estates and Private Wealth magazines.  He has also been published in Estate Planning magazine and other publications and is a frequent speaker on topics such as Family Limited Partnerships, Business Succession Planning and related Chapter 14 issues, as well as Wealth Transfer Strategies for Hedge Fund and Private Equity Fund principals.

Publications and speaking engagements

• Presentation on "Trends in Family Offices - Multi-Generational Wealth Planning," for Ivy Plus, Ivy Plus Alternative Investment Network, New York, NY, March 2010. 
• Presentation on "Business Succession Planning with Buy-Sell Agreements," Janny Montgomery Scott Planning for Today program, Orange, CT, June 2010.   
• "Creative Planning with Preferred Partnerships - The Next Best Thing in Wealth Transfer Planning?" Investment Management Institute, Wealthy Family/Family Office Forum, Greenwich, CT, June 2010. 
• "Black Shirts (Black, Shurtz) and the Marital Deduction Mis-match," Trusts and Estates Magazine, June 2010. 
• Presentation on "Planning with Preferred Partnership" at Estate Planners Day 2010, for Estate Planning Council of New York CIty, Inc., May 2010. 
• "Pre-Liquidity Planning - Do It Now," Trusts and Estates Magazine, April 2010. 
• "The Preferred Partnership GRAT-A Way Around the ETIP Issue?" ACTEC Journal, Winter 2009 issue. 
• Presentation on "International Aspects of Estate Planning," to the Lower Fairfield County Estate Planning Council, December 2009.
• "The FLP Quadrilogy," Trusts and Estates Magazine, December 2009. 
• Presentation on "Partnership (Buy-Sell) Planning-Best Practices to Leverage & Pitfalls to Avoid," in connection with Inc. Magazine's Business Owners Council of Greater New York, Greenwich, CT, New York City and Roseland, NJ, November 2009.
• Presentation on "Planning for the Modern Family-A Flexible, Multi-Generational Approach to Preserving, Growing and Protecting a Family Legacy," Greenwich, CT, November 2009.
• "Special Report: The International Practice - Gift Tax Cost Depends On Form And Substance," Trusts and Estates Magazine, November 2009. 
• Presentation on "Tax Law Developments And What It Means For Your Clients" Family Office Exchange 2009 Financial Executives Forum, Chicago, IL, July 2009.
• "Recent Proposals Could Impact Planning with GRATs," Estate Planning Newsletter, July 2009.
• Presentation on "Global Warning - Guiding You Through Difficult Times" to The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), Singapore, June 2009.
• Presentations on "Tax and Estate Planning Updates" at Connecticut CPE Seminars, Norwalk and Hamden, CT, June 2009. 
• "Taking Stock (of Your Stock)-The Importance of Business Succession Planning." Exit Planning Newsletter, June 2009. 
• Presentation on "Weathering the Perfect Storm: A Survival Guide for Families," Greenwich and New York, June 2009. 
• "Planning For The Modern Family-A Flexible Multi-Generational Approach to Preserving Wealth While Providing For The Family," Private Wealth Magazine, May/June 2009. 
• Presentation on "FLP Planning with GRATs and Defective Grantor Trusts," to financial professionals in Hong Kong and Singapore, May 2009.
• Withers Bergman Newsletter "Anticipated U.S. Transfer Tax Legislation-The Times They are a Changin," March 2009. 
• "FLP Care and Maintenance - Family Offices Are Well Suited For Administering Family Limited Partnerships," Private Wealth Magazine, December 2008/January 2009.  
• "The Resurrection - How Holman Revived Section 2703 Arguments - long thought dead and buried - to defeat a family limited partnership," Trusts and Estates Magazine, October 2008. 
• "New Tax Law and What it Means for Your Clients," at the Family Office Exchange Financial Executives Forum, Chicago, IL, July 2008. 
• "Sharing the Wealth," Private Wealth Magazine, June 2008. 
• Presentation to the Connecticut Estate Planning Council on "International Aspects of Estate Planning," May 2008.
• Presentation to the Lower Fairfield County Estate Planning Council on "Family Limited Partnership Planning Beyond Strangi," December 2007.
• "Section 2703-Keeping Buy/Sell Agreements Intact for Estate Planning and Succession Planning of Family Owned Businesses," Insights Magazine, Autumn 2007.
• Presentation on "Freezing the Family Business: Keeping the Business in the Family and the Family in the Business," to the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, November 2007.
• "'Beneficiary Withdrawal Powers in Grantor Trusts-A Crumm(e)y Idea?" Estate Planning, October 2007.
• "Nothing Succeeds Like Succession," Private Wealth, June/July 2007.
• "Leveraged Wealth Transfer Strategies for Hedge Fund Principals," March-June 2007.
• "Sabotaged-Don’t Let a Buy-Sell Agreement Blow Up an Estate Plan," Trusts & Estates Magazine, April 2006.
• Presentation on "How Buy-Sell Agreements Can Unravel an Estate Plan," Spring 2006.
• Withers Bergman Newsletter "FLPs -Where Are We?" Fall 2005.
• "The Section 2701 Trap," Trusts & Estates Magazine, October 2004.
• Estate Planning Presentation at The New Jersey Bankers 2004 Financial Management & Trust Conference, New Jersey, October 2004.
• "Strangi II - Where From Here?," Trusts & Estates Magazine, February 2004.
• Authored CLE accredited materials for "Essential Business Planning," Cannon Financial Institute Teleconference presented by Roy M. Adams and Charles A. Redd.
• "Protecting Beneficiaries from Themselves," to the New Jersey Bankers 2004 Financial Management and Trust Conference, October 2004.
• Contributions to Roy M. Adams' Cannon Financial Institute lecture series materials.
• Presentation on "Estate and Gift Tax Pitfalls in Business Transactions (Chapter 14)," July 2003.
• Numerous presentations for New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education on Trusts and Estates topics.
• Children's Specialized Hospital estate planning seminars.

Memberships

• Connecticut Bar Association 
• New Jersey Bar Association
• New York State Bar Association

On a personal note

Todd enjoys food, wine, music composition and running.  He and his wife, Lauretta, have two children.