Insights on Private Clients, Trusts & Estates

AFS Partners Todd Angkatavanich and Lauren Wolven will present at the 2026 Heckerling Institute on January 13-14, 2026 in Orlando, Florida.

On December 19, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed S8432/A8662, a bill to amend the New York LLC Transparency Act that would have decoupled it from the federal Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) definitions.

AFS Partners Susan Bart and Kevin Matz were quoted on the emerging gift tax reporting issues tied to new “Trump Accounts,” cautioning that routine family contributions could trigger onerous IRS Form 709 Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax filing obligations absent a legislative or regulatory fix comparable to the long-standing relief afforded to 529 plans.

AFS partner Kevin Matz and his co-author Shifra Herzberg summarize the IRS’s initial guidance on new “Trump accounts” created under IRC Section 530A to promote children’s long-term savings in his latest article for Wealth Management.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce the election of 18 new partners, effective January 1, 2026.

ArentFox Schiff is hosting and sponsoring the 2025 NYSSCPA Private Wealth Conference on December 11th in New York. Speakers include AFS Partners Kevin Matz, Todd Angkatavanich, and Tracy McLaughlin.

AFS Partner Tom Abendroth will co-present in a webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA) 2025 Wealth Management and Trust Webinar Suite on December 4.

AFS Partner Lauren Wolven will speak at the 2025 Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section and Business & Corporations Section Seminar on December 4 in Bismarck, North Dakota.

AFS Partner Kevin Matz, provides an overview of New York’s 2025 amendment to NYTL 954(a)(3) in NYSBA’s Trusts and Estates Law Section Journal.

AFS partner Kevin Matz will be speaking at the NYSSCPA’s Queens-Brooklyn In Person Tax Conference on November 10.

AFS Partner Tom Abendroth co-presented in a webinar for the American Bankers Association (ABA) 2025 Wealth Management and Trust Webinar Suite on November 6.

ArentFox Schiff has been awarded 62 top rankings in the 2026 edition of Best Law Firms®, which recognizes firms for professional excellence based on consistently positive ratings from clients and peers.

ArentFox Schiff Partner Tracy McLaughlin, Private Clients, Trusts & Estates, will present on charitable trusts for estate and income tax savings at the NYSSCPA Tax and Financial Planning for Individuals Conference in New York on November 6, 2025.

AFS Partner Tom Abendroth will present at The Associated Jewish Federation of Baltimore’s Planned Giving Roundtable on November 5.

ArentFox Schiff Partners Todd Angkatavanich, Dave Blickenstaff, and Kevin Matz will present at the 51st Annual Notre Dame Tax & Estate Planning Institute.

AFS Partner Brian Janowsky will speak at the 61st Annual Hawaii Tax Institute Conference on November 4, 2025.

AFS Partner Lauren Wolven will speak at the Annual Seattle Estate Planning Seminar on October 30th in Seattle, Washington.

AFS will host a two-part hybrid program (with a reception to follow) in our Chicago office, addressing timely topics for family offices, private clients, and their advisors. Speakers include AFS Partners David Blickenstaff, Adam Diederich, and Kevin Matz, and Associate Kirstie Brenson.

ArentFox Schiff is proud to announce that Partner Susan T. Bart was recognized by The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC) as an inductee into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame® and as a recipient of the Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished) designation for 2025.

AFS Partner Lauren Wolven will speak at the ACTEC 2025 Fall Meeting in Austin, Texas on October 22nd.

AFS associate Xiang Qu presented at the New York City Bar Association on October 6.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce the addition of partner Lauren Wolven to its growing Private Clients, Trusts & Estates practice in the firm’s Chicago office. Lauren brings over two and a half decades of experience in estate, tax, and succession planning. Her clients include high-net-worth individuals, corporate fiduciaries, and middle market business owners.

Over time, trusts have become much more complicated. They may own a wide variety of assets, including residences, real estate, interests in family business, and interests in increasingly complex financial instruments.

ACTEC Trust & Estate Talk Podcast, “Estate Planning Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) Part 2: Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) Planning Strategies Post OBBBA”

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 132 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2026, with two attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 66 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”