The Tools & Techniques of Trust Planning, 4th Edition

Jonathan E. Gopman, Executive Editor

Jonathan E. Gopman is a partner in Nelson Mullen, where he focuses on sophisticated wealth accumulation and preservation planning strategies for entrepreneurs. He assists them with their personal and business planning needs at all phases of the wealth accumulation and preservation cycle. He is a fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Asset Protection Planning Committee of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section of the ABA (for the 2016-2017 bar year) and is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Jonathan is an adjunct professor at Ave Maria School of Law, currently serves on its Curriculum Advisory Committee, and chaired its first annual Estate Planning Day Conference held in April of 2014 and continues to serve on the advisory committee for such conference. He is a member of the legal advisory board of Commonwealth Trust Company and STEP. He is AV-rated. In 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 he was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and as a Florida Super Lawyer for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 and included in Florida Trend’s Legal Elite for 2010 and 2011. In the Dec. 2005 and 2007 issues of Worth Magazine, he was recognized as one of the top 100 estate planning attorneys in the US.

Jonathan has authored and co-authored numerous articles on asset protection and estate planning and has chapters in books on asset protection, and frequently lectures on these topics throughout the world. He was a co-author of a prior version of the revised BNA Tax Management Portfolio on Estate Tax Payments and Liabilities, and has been interviewed for and quoted in a number of publications such as the New York Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, Wealth Manager, and Elite Traveler. He is the originator of the idea for the statutory tenancy by the entireties trust (STET) in 12 § 3574(f) of the Delaware Statutes. His articles and presentations have served as an impetus for changes to the trust laws of several states. In 2011, he was appointed to a special committee of the Nevis government and Nevis International Service Providers Association to revise the Nevis International Exempt Trust Ordinance. He also provided advice and consultation on the proposed revised charging order statute for the Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance, and together with his colleague, Linda Charity, provided advice and consultation on the content of the proposed banking ordinance in Nevis. He has also provided advice to the government of Nevis on other legislative initiatives. He received his J.D. from The Florida State University College of Law (with High Honors) and his LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Miami School of Law.

L. Paul Hood, Jr., Contributing Editor

L. Paul Hood, Jr. is an author, speaker, and consultant on tax, estate, and charitable planning. A native of Louisiana (and a double LSU Tiger), Paul Hood obtained his undergraduate and law degrees from Louisiana State University and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center before settling down to practice tax and estate planning law in the New Orleans area. 

Paul has taught at the University of New Orleans, Northeastern University, the University of Toledo College of Law, and Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law. Paul has authored or co-authored nine books and over 500 professional articles on estate, charitabl,e and tax planning and business valuation. Paul's ninth book, Yours, Mine & Ours: Estate Planning for People in Blended or StepFamilies, is now out. His website is www.paulhoodservices.com. 

A "recovering tax lawyer" and frequent contributor to Leimberg Information Services since its inception, Paul is a highly sought-after speaker and consultant because of his innate ability to see through the complexity and explain difficult and even boring subjects in understandable and entertaining language with his insightful and biting sense of humor, and he minces no words in doing so. Along the way, Paul's been a father, husband, uncle, Godfather, lawyer, trustee, member, director, president, partner, trust protector, director of planned giving, expert witness, agent, professor, judge, juror, respondent, and a defendant, and he uses his experience in these myriad roles to guide others.

A passionate history buff who teaches the history of tax and estate planning in his school and continuing education classes, Paul is a self-described amateur papal historian (boasting a personal library of papal history books that exceeds 100), and he has given numerous speeches about the history of the papacy and the popes as well as the history of the governors of Louisiana. 

Michael Sneeringer, Executive Editor

Michael Sneeringer is a member in the offices of Brennan Manna Diamond’s Cleveland and Bonita Springs offices, focusing his practice on estate planning, estate administration, and wealth preservation. He works with clients on all areas of estate planning, including asset protection and tax law. He is an Executive Council Member of the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section. He is Probate & Property’s Articles Editor for Trust and Estate and the former group chair of the ABA RPTE Section’s Non-Tax Estate Planning Considerations Group. In Naples, Florida, Michael is a 2019 graduate of the Growing Associates in Naples™ (GAIN™) program through The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, and past Chair of the Collier County Bar Association Trusts & Estates Section. He serves as a Director of Florida Lawyers Assistance, Inc., and a Director of the Collier County Bar Foundation, Inc.

Mary Elizabeth Anderson, Contributing Editor

Beth is a member of the Trusts, Estates & Personal Planning Service Team with Wyatt Tarrant & Combs LLP in Louisville, Kentucky. She concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, trust administration, including issues with estate, inheritance, and gift taxes, trust modifications, business planning, and probate. Beth is an active member of the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property Trust & Estate Law as Group Chair of the Elder Law and Special Needs Planning Group, Reporter for the Annual Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, and ABA Advisor for the Uniform Laws Commission. She is also the Chair of the Kentucky Bar Association’s Probate and Trust Law Section and an Executive Committee Member of the Estate Planning Council of Metro Louisville. Beth has presented at numerous national and regional estate planning events and has been published in Trusts & Estates magazine and the ABA Real Property Trust & Estate Law eReport.

Recognized as a Kentucky Super Lawyers® Rising Star in 2016, Beth earned her J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and her LL.M from the Philip E. Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning, University of Miami School of Law.

Larry Rivkin, Contributing Editor

Larry Rivkin is the co-founder of the law practice Rivkin & Rivkin, LLC, which concentrates in estate planning, estate and trust administration, planned charitable giving, and planning for children with special needs. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois and Florida, has attained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, and has been selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer and an Illinois Super Lawyer.

Larry received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was the Lord Bissell Public Service Merit Scholar. He has served as the Chairperson of the Professional Advisory Committee to the Chicago Jewish Federation’s Legacies and Endowments Committee and has received the Shirley and Hilton Leibow Award for Service to Individuals with Developmental Challenges. Larry Rivkin is the co-founder of the law practice Rivkin, Rivkin, & Kaplan, LLC, which concentrates in estate planning, estate and trust administration, planned charitable giving, and planning for children with special needs. He is licensed to practice law in Illinois and Florida, has attained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification, and has been repeatedly recognized as an Illinois Leading Lawyer and an Illinois Super Lawyer.

Larry received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was the Lord Bissell Public Service Merit Scholar. He is a member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners and serves on the Hydrocephalus Association’s Support and Education Committee and on the Professional Advisory Committee to the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago’s Legacies and Endowments Committee. The father of three amazing children, including a son with hydrocephalus, Larry has received the Shirley and Hilton Leibow Award for Service to Individuals with Developmental Challenges.

Yoshimi O. Smith, Contributing Editor

Yoshimi O. Smith is a co-founding partner of the law firm of Beller Smith, P.L., located in Boca Raton, Florida. She concentrates her practice in the areas of estate and tax planning, estate and trust administration, and business succession planning. Ms. Smith is a graduate of Hofstra University Law School and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida.

She is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Ms. Smith is a member of the Executive Council of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar “RPPTL” and a former Probate and Trust Law CLE vice chair for RPPTL. She is also a former vice-chair for the Ad Hoc Fiduciary Licensing Committee and former co-vice chair of the Estate and Trust Tax Planning Committee of RPPTL.

Ms. Smith also serves on the Professionalism and Ethics Committee, Probate Law and Procedure Committee, Probate and Trust Law Committee, and the Wills, Trusts and Estates Certification Review Course Committee of RPPTL. She is a former chair of the Probate Committee for the South Palm Beach County Bar Association.

Ms. Smith is rated an AV lawyer according to Martindale Hubble and has been named Top Up & Comer in South Florida by South Florida Legal Guide, Rising Star by Florida Super Lawyers, Super Lawyer by Florida Super Lawyers, Who’s Who in American Law, Who’s Who of American Women, Strathmore’s Who’s Who, and Up and Comer in Florida Legal Elite.

Ms. Smith is a frequent speaker on tax and estate planning topics and has lectured and written on various trust and estate topics for the NYU Tax Institute, Florida State Bar, New York State Bar Association, Practicing Law Institute, Northwest Federal Tax Conference, Palm Beach County Estate Planning Council, Florida Legal Education Association, South Palm Beach County Bar Association, Collier County Bar Association, New York City Bar Association, Portland Tax Forum, National Business Institute, Matthew Bender, Leimberg Services, Thomson Reuters, local estate planning councils, various charities, community and professional organizations.

Mary E. Vandenack, Contributing Editor

Mary E. Vandenack is founding and managing partner of Vandenack Weaver LLC in Omaha, Nebraska. Mary is a highly regarded practitioner in the areas of tax, high net worth estate planning, asset protection planning, benefits, executive compensation, business succession planning, tax dispute resolution, and tax-exempt entities. Mary’s practice serves businesses and business owners, executives, real estate developers and investors, health care providers and tax-exempt organizations. Mary is a member of the American Bar Association Real Property Trust and Estate Section, where she serves as Co-Chair of the Futures Task Force and Joint Group on Law Practice. Mary is also a member of the American Bar Association Sections on Taxation Section and Business. She is also active in the American Bar Association Law Practice Division and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Practice Magazine. Mary is a frequent writer and speaker on tax, benefits, asset protection planning, and estate planning topics as well as on practice topics including improving the delivery of legal services, technology in the practice of law, building sustainable law firms, and providing increased access to the underserved.

Mary E. Vandenack, J.D., ACTEC, COLPM®, CAP® is CEO, founding and managing partner of Vandenack Weaver Truhlsen in Omaha, Nebraska. Mary is a highly regarded practitioner in the areas of tax, high net worth estate planning, asset protection planning, benefits, executive compensation, business succession planning, tax dispute resolution, and tax-exempt entities. Mary’s practice serves businesses and business owners, executives, real estate developers and investors, health care providers and tax-exempt organizations. Mary is a member of the American Bar Association Real Property Trust and Estate Section, where she serves on Council and Planning. She is also active in the American Bar Association Law Practice Division and serves as Vice Chair of the Division. Mary is also a member of the American Bar Association Sections on Taxation Section and Business. Mary is a frequent writer and speaker on tax, benefits, asset protection planning, and estate planning topics as well as on practice topics including improving the delivery of legal services, technology in the practice of law, building sustainable law firms, and providing increased access to the underserved.