LESTER B. LAW
Member
Background
Lester B. Law focuses on estate and trust planning, business succession planning, estate and trust administration, beneficiary and fiduciary administration and income tax matters. Lester spent the early part of his career practicing law as a trusts and estates attorney. He then switched to an advisory role working predominately with ultra-high net worth clients in two national trust companies. He has worked with many entrepreneurs and their families advising them on business succession planning, including dealing not only with the transactional and tax matters, but also with family dynamics and other related issues. With that experience, combined with his background as a certified public accountant, he brings his unique experience in understanding both the income tax, transfer tax and the family dynamic side of planning.
Lester divides his time between the Naples and Washington offices, spending a little more than half of his time in Naples. Lester is a member of the Florida and District of Columbia Bars.
Lester is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC), and serves on the Fiduciary Income Tax and Transfer Tax Study committees. He is also an active member of the American Bar Association’s Real Property Trusts and Estate (ABA RPTE) Section, serving as co-chair of the ABA RPTE’s Income and Transfer Tax Planning Group, as well as being a member of other committees. An active member of and board certified in Wills Trusts and Estates law by the Florida Bar, Lester has held many leadership roles at the Florida Bar’s Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section, including chairing committees, being an editor of the Tax Notes for the Florida Bar Journal and recently co-chairing a subcommittee exploring the utility of Community Property Trusts in Florida.
Lester is a nationally recognized speaker and author. Recent presentations and venues include, University of Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the Notre Dame Tax & Estate Planning Institute, Southern Federal Tax Institute, the Montana Tax Institute, ABA-RPTE meetings, Washington School of Law – Annual Estate Planning Council, Portland Estate Planning Council, Ave Maria School of Law Estate Planning Symposia, and Florida Attorney / Trust Officer Liaison Conference. He has lectured for the past fourteen years at the Florida Banker’s Trust School, was an adjunct professor at the Ave Maria School of Law, and has lectured for the past three years as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law, Graduate Estate Planning Program.
Lester’s writings have been published in many national journals and publications, including Trusts & Estates, The Florida Bar Journal, Probate and Property, Probate Reporter, Bloomberg/BNA Estates, Gifts & Trusts Journal, Estate Planning, and Steve Leimberg’s – LISI’s Newsletters. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg/BNA, and other national media. Lester is also a co-author of a book on estate planning titled, Tools and Techniques of Trust Planning. Lester is rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale Hubbell. Prior to joining Franklin Karibjanian & Law, Lester was a managing director at US Trust and Abbot Downing (Wells Fargo’s ultra-high net worth boutique) focusing on planning for the ultra-high net worth clients for a dozen years. He also practiced law for more than a dozen years in Florida. Prior to law school, Lester was a CPA in Florida with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (formerly Price Waterhouse) for several years.
Education
LL.M. Tax, University of Florida Graduate Tax Program, 1993 (1st in Class)
J.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1991.
M.S.T., University of Miami, 1989
B.B.A., Florida International University, 1986
Bar Memberships
Florida, 1993
District of Columbia, 2017
Professional Affiliations
ACTEC – Fiduciary Income Tax and Transfer Tax Study Committees - member
ABA – RPTE – Income and Transfer Tax Planning Group - co-chair
Florida Bar – Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section - Sub-Committee co-chair
Estate Planning Council of Naples Past President
Florida Bankers – Trust School Lecturer
Ave Maria School of Law - Past Adjunct Professor
University of Miami School of Law – Adjunct Professor
recent Publications
January 2017
Portability, So Many Questions, So Few Answers
(51st U. Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning)
Co-Author
February 2014
IRS Provides Relief for Certain Missed Portability Elections -- if Corrective Action is Taken in 2014
(ABA, RPTE Section, eReport February 2014)
Co-Author
January 2013
The Game Changer
(ABA, RPTE Section, Estate and Gift Committee Project)
Co-Author
January 2013
Portability – The Regulations
(ABA, RPTE Section, Estate and Gift Committee Project)
Co-Author
June 18, 2012
New Portability Regulations: Much Better Than Expected
(Steve Leimberg's Estate Planning Email Newsletter #1976)
Co-Author)
March-April 2012
Portability's Role in the Evolution Away from Traditional By-Pass Trusts to Grantor Trusts
(Vol. 37, No. 2 of BNA/Tax Management's Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal)
Co-Author
January 2012
Portability - Part One
(ABA, RPTE Section, Estate and Gift Committee Project)
Co-Author
January 2011
Tax Relief Unemployment ReAuthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
(ABA, RPTE Section, Estate and Gift Committee Project)
Co-Author
July 20, 2010
"Roth" the Traditional IRA or Give to Charity
(Steve Leimberg's Employee Benefits and Retirement Planning Email Newsletter)
Co-Author
January 18, 2010
Roth IRA Recharacterizations and Reconversions – 10 Strategies
(126, No. 3, Tax Notes, p. 319)
Co-Author
Recent Presentations
Basis Consistency - Ave Maria Estate Planning Conference, Naples, Florida on April 28, 2017
Where Income and Transfer Tax Intersect – Indian River Estate Planning Council, Vero Beach, Florida, on February 9, 2017
Top Ten Next Gen Trust Mistakes – Tiger 21 Annual Meeting, Boca Raton, Florida, on February 3, 2017
Never Pay Estate Taxes – Portland Estate Planning Seminar, Portland, Oregon, January 20, 2017
Income an Transfer Taxes, Where the Rubber Meets the Road, San Diego Estate Planning Council, San Diego, California on January 17, 2017
Extraordinary, Efficient, Elegant, Evolutionary: The Annual Taxable Gifts Approach and Testamentary CLAT Remainder, University of Miami 51st Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Orlando, Florida, on January 11, 2017
Portability, So Many Questions, So Few Answers, University of Miami 51st Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Orlando, Florida on January 9, 2017
The Merits of Lifetime Taxable Gifts and Efficiently Transferring Wealth Using Testamentary CLATs to Eliminate all Transfer Taxes and Transfer Assets to a Family Foundation, 42nd Annual Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, South Bend, Indiana, on October 26, 2016
The New Basis Consistency and Reporting Requirements: Impacts, Traps and Compliance Concerns Using New Form 8971, 42nd Annual Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, South Bend, Indiana, on October 26, 2016
Pay No Estate Taxes – The Benefits of Lifetime Giving to Trusts and Integrating Charitable Giving Into Your Plan, American Bar Assoc, Sarasota, Florida on September 29, 2016
Pay No Estate Taxes – The Benefits of Lifetime Giving to Trusts and Integrating Charitable Giving Into Your Plan, Florida Bankers 58th Annual Trust & Wealth Management Conference, Sarasota, Florida on September 29, 2016
Pay No Estate Taxes – The Benefits of Lifetime Giving to Trusts and Integrating Charitable Giving Into Your Plan, Florida Bankers 58th Annual Trust & Wealth Management Conference, Sarasota, Florida on September 29, 2016
Power of Appointment Support Trust, Washington DC Bar Taxation Section, Estate Planning Luncheon Series, Washington, DC, on September 12, 2016
Basis Consistency – Is it Consistent?, Naples Lunch and Learn, Naples, Florida, May 19, 2016
Income and Transfer Taxes, Where the Rubber Meets the Road, 2016 MOKAN Trust Conference, Kansas, Missouri, on May 5, 2016.
Portability and Income Taxes, Wills Trusts and Estates Certification Course, Florida Bar, Orlando, Florida, on April 9, 2016.
Pay No Estate Taxes, American Bar Association, Spring Symposia CLE Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, on May 13, 2016
Basis – Federal Tax Institute of New England conference (CLE) on October 30, 2015.
Portability Four Years After Enactment, What You Need To Know, ALI-CLE, webinar, June 29, 2015.
Annual Taxable Gifts Approach, Wilmington Tax Group, The University and Whist Club, Wilmington, Delaware, June 16, 2015.
Basis – Banal? Basic, Benign? Bewildering, co-presenters, Howard Zaritsky and Lester Law, 49th Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Orlando FL, January 12-16, 2015.
Portability: An Update for Estate Planner, co-presenters, Richard Franklin and Lester Law, ALI-CLE, teleconference/webcast, March 12, 2014.
Clinical Trials with Portability, co-presenters, Tom Abendroth, Richard Franklin, and Lester Law, 48th Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January 13 -17, 2014.
The New Estate Planning: Portability, Income Taxes and All That, presenter – Lester Law, Florida Bar, RPPTL, CLE course titled, Wills, Trusts and Estates Certification Course and Advanced Practice Update, Orlando, FL, April 11, 2015
Protecting “To-Be-Inherited’ IRAS From the Banal to the Mind-Boggling, co-presenters, Lester Law, Kirsten Lynch and Alfred Stasis, Florida Bar-RPPTL-CLE course titled, And You Thought Estate Planning Was Easy? Fort Lauderdale, FL, October 24, 2014.
Portability – the Planning Possibilities, presenter, Lester Law, Georgia Fiduciary Law Institute, July 10 -12, 2014.
Advanced Portability Strategies in Estate Planning: Navigating Asset Composition, Decoupling, GST Exemption Issues and More, co-presenters, Richard Franklin, George Karibjanian and Lester Law, Stafford Publications Webinar, June 14, 2014.
Seeking and Finding New Silver Patterns in a Changed Estate Planning Environment: Creative Inter Vivos QTIP Planning, moderator Lester Law, ABA-RPTE Spring Symposium – 25th Anniversary, Chicago, IL, May 1 -2, 2014.
Portability, Presenter - Lester Law, Washington State Bar Association, 58th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Seattle, WA, October 22, 2013.
Portability – Practical Planning Pointers, co-presenters, Lester Law and Lauren Detzel, Florida Bar, RPPTL, CLE course titled, Current Developments in Estate Planning Techniques, Tampa, FL, October 18, 2013.
IRAs, Issues (and Solutions) for Designating Individuals and Trusts as Beneficiaries -Case Studies, co-presenters, Lester Law and Kristen Lynch, Florida Bar-RPPTL-CLE course titled, Current Developments in Estate Planning Techniques, Tampa, FL, October 18, 2013.
Portability: Has the Game Changed, co-presenter, Richard Franklin and Lester Law, ABA/RPTE eCLE Webinar on Planning with Portability, May 30, 2013.
Setting Attorneys’ and Fiduciaries’ Fees and Getting Paid, co-presenters, Sandra Diamond, Donald Tescher and Lester Law, Florida Bar-RPPTL-CLE course titled, 32thAttorney Trust Officer Liaison Conference, Naples, FL, June 15, 2013.
Tax Implications of Generation-Skipping Techniques - Planning to Minimize the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax, Lorman CLE, teleconference, May 31, 2013.
Care and Feeding of 2012 Estate Plans, co-presenter, Lester Law, Beth Shapiro Kaufman, George Karibjanian, Richard Franklin, ABA-RPTE Spring Symposium, Washington DC, May 3, 2013.
Portability: Panacea? Pariah? Placebo?, co-presenters, Lester Law and Richard Franklin, ACTEC 2013 Annual Meeting, Estate and Gift Committee, Maui, HI, March 6, 2013.
Portability: Panacea? Pariah? Placebo?, co-presenters, Lester Law and Richard Franklin, ABA Tax Section's 2013 Mid-Year Meeting, Orlando, FL, January 25, 2013.
Top Ten Planning Tips for the Year-End – Income Tax Issues in Estate Planning, It’s Not Too Late, presenter - Lester Law, Florida Bar-RPPTL-CLE course titled, Year End Estate and Asset Planning Techniques Views from Washington DC and More, Lester Law – Co-Chair, Tampa, Florida, November 30, 2012.
Portability – Plethora of Possibilities, presenter, Lester Law, Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami, Miami, FL, November 15, 2012.
Portability and Planning with Large IRAs, presenter, Lester Law, Advanced Tax Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, November 7, 2012.
Portability: Panacea? Pariah? Placebo?, co-presenters, Lester Law and Richard Franklin, ACTEC, 2012 Mid-Atlantic Regional meeting, Verona, NY, September 7 -9, 2012.
Back to the Future: Planning with Portability, 'I Love You' Wills and Riding into the Sunset, co-presenters, Richard Franklin, Tiffany Carmona, Tracy DeVlieger and Lester Law, 23rd Annual RPTE Spring Symposia New York, New York, May 3 -4, 2012
Roth Conversions in 2012 and Planning for Portability with IRAs, presenter – Lester Law, Florida Bar- RPPTL-CLE course titled, Estate Planning – Leaping Into the Future, Tampa, FL, February 29, 2012
Estate Planning for Large IRAs and Other Retirement Benefit, presenter, Lester Law, Washington, D.C., Estate Planning Council, Washington, D.C., January 29, 2012.
IRAs....Love Them or Leave Them, Trust Them or Convert Them....and Are They Protected?, co-presenters, Kristen Lynch, Richard Franklin and Lester Law, Florida Bar-RPPTL-CLE course titled, 30th Annual Attorney / Trust Officer Liaison Conference, Palm Beach, FL, June 18, 2011.
Wealth Transfer Tax, co-Presenters, Elaine Bucher and Lester Law, Florida Bar-Tax Section-CLE course titled, Tax Practitioners’ Annual Review & Update, Tampa, FL, January 19, 2010.
Wealth Transfer Tax, co-Presenters, Elaine Bucher and Lester Law, Florida Bar-Tax Section-CLE course titled, Tax Practitioners’ Annual Review & Update, Tampa, FL, January 19, 2010.
Wealth Transfer Tax, co-Presenters, Elaine Bucher and Lester Law, Florida Bar-Tax Section-CLE course titled, Tax Practitioners’ Annual Review & Update, Tampa, FL, January 19, 2010.
Selected Estate Planning Thoughts for Sub-chapter S Corporation Shareholders, presenter, Lester Law, Joint Fall CLE Meeting, ABA-RPTE and Tax Section Meeting, Chicago, IL, September 24 -26, 2009.