Joe practices in the area of financial and estate planning, with a focus on taxation. He routinely handles planning and compliance involving complicated tax issues for high-income, high-net-worth individuals, as well as the preparation of estate planning documents ranging from simple plans to those concerning significant wealth transfer issues.
In his counsel to clients, Joe assists them in minimizing their tax liabilities. He is a certified public accountant (inactive) and previously worked with Grant Thornton. Joe also operated and owned a manufacturing and distribution business before he received his graduate degrees.
Experience
- A Sound and Sensible Business Transfer. Business owners were facing major challenges in transferring valuable businesses to the next generation, and they needed to avoid significant estate taxes and liquidity issues upon their deaths. We successfully transferred the enterprises without incurring any estate or gift taxes by using the following techniques: (1) converting the stock in the enterprises to voting and nonvoting stock; (2) gifting a portion of the nonvoting stock to special trusts designed to reduce income taxes and provide protection for the benefit of the second generation; (3) selling a portion of the nonvoting stock to a specially designed trust that resulted in no income taxes payable on the gain resulting from the sale; and (4) using significant discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability.
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Keeping a House a Family Home. Frequently, clients have valuable and highly sentimental residential property, such as a lake home or second home in a warmer climate. We have assisted many families by developing trusts, limited liability companies, or other ownership vehicles to maintain those second homes indefinitely. One key planning technique is to provide for proper funding of the expenses of the home to ensure continuing family harmony in the use and enjoyment of those properties.
Credentials
Education
William Mitchell College of Law, J.D.; cum laude; William Mitchell Law Review
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, M.B.T.
Lawrence University, B.A.
Admissions
- Minnesota
Honors & Recognitions
The Best Lawyers in America (2023-present)