Elise J. McGee advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on all aspects of wealth-transfer planning, including estate and trust administration, leveraged wealth-transfer techniques, tax matters, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, real estate transactions and closely held business matters. Elise has extensive experience working with owners of closely held businesses to develop governance and succession plans, and on corporate, tax and compliance matters relating to those businesses.

Elise specializes in the formation and operation of private trust companies, and has advised clients on these structures in multiple jurisdictions. Elise has worked with state regulators to develop customized private trust company structures for clients, including for international families. Most recently, she co-drafted Wyoming’s 2019 trust company legislation including 2021 legislative updates. Elise has analyzed SEC and regulatory compliance issues facing private trust companies, and has helped clients develop policies and procedures for their private trust companies. She also advises clients on the litigation and regulatory risks facing private trust companies and their decision-makers.

Elise works with clients, including registered investment advisers and multi-family offices, to establish and transition trusteeship to retail trust companies. She also advises retail trust companies on cryptocurrency custody matters. She helps clients structure the multi-jurisdictional relationships between trust companies, family offices and closely held businesses.

Elise speaks frequently on the subject of estate planning, state income tax strategies, digital assets and trust companies. She has lectured at the University of Wyoming College of Law and serves on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Bar Association Trust Law Committee.

While in law school, Elise was an executive editor for The Michigan Journal of Race & Law. Prior to law school, she worked as a senior research analyst for Lexecon, where she performed research and statistical analyses focusing on the application of economics to litigation.

James H. Cundiff advises clients on family wealth and business planning, federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning, and estate and trust administration. James represents entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and other business leaders and wealthy individuals on estate and tax planning matters.

Counseling closely held businesses and family members, James is actively engaged in the structuring of family businesses as well as business control and succession planning, multi-generational wealth transfer planning, and estate plan design and implementation. James works with several single-family offices on the creation and administration of private investment pools and private trust companies. As a certified public accountant, James bridges the gaps between financial, tax and legal issues. James frequently writes and speaks on a variety of tax and estate planning subjects.

Adam K. Sherman provides legal counsel on a wide range of wealth transfer, tax, estate planning and business succession matters for high-net-worth individuals and business owners.

Adam has extensive experience structuring and implementing sophisticated wealth transfer techniques and working with owners of closely held businesses to develop customized succession plans. Adam also advises clients on a range of issues relating to the formation and maintenance of family office and private trust company structures.

Adam counsels executors, trustees and beneficiaries in all aspects of estate and trust administration, including the preparation of federal estate tax returns and judicial and non-judicial trust accountings. He has also been involved in numerous estate and gift tax audit proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and has successfully obtained favorable private letter rulings for his clients on a range of income and transfer tax issues.

On international matters, Adam has advised multinational families on compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and counseled US-based clients participating in the IRS’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP).

Adam has spoken extensively on estate planning topics, including wealth transfer planning, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax reporting, and exercising powers of appointment.

While in law school, Adam was a staff member of the Chicago Journal of International Law, in which he has his note (on the international legal status of drone operators) published in 2004.