Overview

Bill focuses on sophisticated wealth transfer issues for individuals, families and family offices.

His specific areas of expertise include:

  • Estate and tax planning for individuals, including the preparation of wills, trusts and related documents
  • Charitable gift planning and administration
  • Estate and trust administration
  • Estate and trust controversies
  • Tax controversies

Services

Credentials

Education

  • Indiana University Maurer School of Law, J.D., 1976, magna cum laude
  • Purdue University, B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1973, with honors and election to Tau Beta Pi

Admissions

  • Minnesota, 1976
  • U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1978
  • U.S. Tax Court, 1980

Recognition

  • Best Lawyers in America, Trusts and Estates, 1991-2024; Non-Profit / Charities Law, 2007-2024; Litigation-Trusts and Estates, 2011-2024
  • AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell, 2023
  • Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law, Minnesota, 2017-2023
  • Minnesota Super Lawyers, Estate Planning & Probate, 2003-2023
  • Lawyer of the Year in Minneapolis for Non-Profit/Charities Law, Best Lawyers, 2014
  • Lawyer of the Year in Minneapolis for Litigation-Trusts and Estates, Best Lawyers, 2012
  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Civic & Professional

Professional Activities

  • Probate and Trust Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Past Chairperson
  • Minneapolis Estate Planning Council, Past President
  • The Minneapolis Foundation, Past Chairperson and Trustee
  • Indiana University School of Law, Past Member of the Board of Visitors
  • Minnesota Zoo Foundation, Past Chairperson
  • Northern Star Council of Boy Scouts of America, Member of the Board of Directors; Past President

News & Insights

Publications & Presentations

Presenter, Avoiding the Unthinkable: Employee Embezzlement and Malfeasance, Fredrikson & Byron Event, May 3, 2017

Doing Good and Saving Taxes (Is the Conventional Wisdom Always Correct or is There Still Room for Common Sense?), Washington State Bar Association (CLE)

Planning for the Larger Estate (Going Beyond the Credit Trust), Minnesota Association of Life Underwriters Seminar

Drafting the Documents: What to Include and Why, Minnesota State Bar Association (CLE)

What Every Development Officer Should Know: (But on Occasion Was Afraid to Ask) About Charitable Lead Trusts, Minnesota Planned Giving Council

Post-Mortem Estate Planning, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants 42nd Annual Tax Conference

Planning Options for the Larger Estate, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education 22nd Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference

The Benefits of Preserving Private Lands, The Minnesota Land Trust Land Preservation Forum—Preserving Our Private and Family Lands

Estate Planning Concerns for Retirement Distributions, Red River Valley Estate Planning Council

Planning for Disclaimers, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants Annual Estate and Financial Planning Conference

Planning the Large Estate, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education 21st Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference

Community Foundations Versus Private Foundations: Estate and Charitable Planning After 170(e)(5), The Minneapolis Foundation

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Uses and Abuses of Charitable Remainder Trusts, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, 12th Annual Estate and Personal Financial Planning Conference

Transferring the Closely Held Business, Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education

Taking a Fresh Look at Retirement Assets: Creative Uses in Estate Planning, The Minneapolis Foundation

Planning and Drafting Concerns for Residence GRITS and GRATS, Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law of the American Bar Association

The House That Roared: The Use of Personal Residence Trusts Under Section 2702, ICLE and Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Advanced Estate Planning Institute

A Potpourri of Charitable Planning Ideas, American Cancer Society/Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, Charitable Giving Seminar

Current Planning with Buy-Sell Agreements, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, The 10th Annual Estate and Personal Financial Planning Conference

Taming GRITS, GRATS, QPRTS and Other Creatures Oozing from the Section 2702 Swamp, Annual UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute

Estate Planning Considerations for Transfers of Non-Business Interests: GRITS and Joint Purchases, 36th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Washington State Bar Association

Closely Held Business Issues in Planning and Administration, 17th Annual Conference of Probate and Trust Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education

S-Corporation Planning, 23rd Annual Advanced Life Underwriting Institute, Minnesota Association of Life Underwriters

Jump to Page

Necessary Cookies

Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.

Analytical Cookies

Analytical cookies help us improve our website by collecting and reporting information on its usage. We access and process information from these cookies at an aggregate level.