Private Wealth Services

Change – in tax laws, market conditions and family business situations – represents one of the most significant wealth management challenges for individuals, families, private companies, nonprofit organizations and fiduciaries. Highly qualified and highly responsive to change, both positive and negative, Holland & Knight’s Private Wealth Services Group is as committed to planning and protecting your financial interests as you are.

Private Wealth Client Commitment

Holland & Knight has among the most Fellows in the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC) of any law firm in the United States. ACTEC is the professional association of pre-eminent trusts and estates lawyers selected for membership by their peers and based upon their knowledge and experience. Holland & Knight lawyers comprise some of the current and past committee chairs and members of the governing body of the College.

Our clients benefit from the collective experience of a highly regarded, sophisticated and motivated group. You also benefit if your business or distribution of assets raise questions requiring representation in other jurisdictions or areas of the law. As one of the largest U.S.-based law firms, we represent clients in virtually all areas of the law. We integrate Holland & Knight's firmwide practices to provide access to the depth and breadth of experience you need.

Trusted Advisors

Our highly experienced wealth planning attorneys have prepared and implemented countless estate plans for high-net-worth individuals, multigenerational families and international clients using a broad range of sophisticated strategies and techniques, from traditional to esoteric.

Our Private Wealth Services Group is nationally recognized in diverse fields such as:

• estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning
• sophisticated charitable giving
• probate litigation
• IRS litigation
• life insurance planning
• business succession planning
• asset protection
• international taxation
• charitable organizations
• private foundations
• prenuptial and postnuptial planning
• planning for entrepreneurs
• preferred partnerships
• private placement life insurance

Estate Tax Preparation and Compliance

In addition to the estate administration process, our lawyers counsel clients on tax-related activities for businesses, individuals and estates, including the preparation of estate tax and income returns, planning to minimize transfer taxes, representation in estate tax law controversies and a full range of post-mortem planning (including qualified disclaimers and the use of the credit for tax on prior transfers).

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Having trial experience in probate and trust litigation throughout the United States and in other countries, our team is equipped to handle complex probate litigation, including:

• trust and will contests
• defense and prosecution of fiduciary surcharge proceedings
• contested conservatorship and guardianship matters
• will and trust construction
• interpretation and reformation proceedings
• estate and gift tax litigation matters in many different state courts and the U.S. Tax Court

Working closely with dispute resolution lawyers to achieve optimum results through negotiation, litigation, trial, appeal and alternative dispute resolution methods, we have represented individuals, including celebrities, family businesses, charitable organizations, educational institutions, banks and trust companies.

Tax-Exempt Organizations

Entities of all types, such as United States or international charity, family or corporate foundation, educational institution or organization, professional association, religious organization or other tax-exempt organization, are assisted by our team. Our Private Wealth Services Group is well-versed in the specialized and complex laws relating to such entities. Our group includes lawyers that are nationally recognized for corporate governance issues, successful litigators of high-profile cases and authors of current tax regulations. We regularly advise tax-exempt clients on:

• wealth protection and transfer
• federal, state and local tax laws
• corporate governance and transactions
• management of nonprofit assets
• charitable and planned giving
• charitable solicitation
• estate administration
• business coordination issues
• capture of bequests
• employment law
• intellectual property
• real estate
• litigation

Leading Lawyers on Your Side

Our Private Wealth Services Group has extensive experience handling a broad spectrum of work for our clients. Highly qualified and highly responsive to change, members of our team have been recognized as leaders in the private wealth industry by a variety of publications.

Recent recognitions include:

• Band 1 ranking for Private Wealth Law in Florida, Massachusetts, Oregon and Tennessee; Private Wealth Disputes in California; and Private Aircraft in Global-wide; Band 2 for Private Wealth Law-USA, Private Wealth Disputes-Florida and Family Offices and Funds Structuring; Band 3 ranking for Private Wealth Law in Texas and Band 5 for Private Wealth Law in New York, 2024 Chambers High Net Worth guide
• Law Firm of the Year in Trusts & Estates Law, 2023 Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" guide; firm also earned same honor in 2017
• USA Private Client Team of the Year for the East Coast, 2020 Chambers High Net Worth guide
• Leading firm for Nationwide Private Wealth Law, 2016-2024 Chambers High Net Worth guide
• First-tier ranking in Trusts & Estates Law, 2014-2024 Best Lawyers "Best Law Firms" guide