Stephen R. Litman

Experience

Steve works with clients to ensure their estate planning, insurance, tax and business goals are aligned, especially when it comes to planning for succession, or at major transitions for the business.

Steve provides estate-planning services to high net-worth individuals, guiding them through every step of what can be a complex and emotional process. He has been named among The Best Lawyers in America^© in the area of trusts and estates.

Steve has also represented clients as gift and estate tax audits and at Tax Court on matters where hundreds of millions of dollars have been at issue.

As an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota School of Law, Steve has taught advanced estate planning. He is a fellow with and has lectured at the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and is active in its business planning committee and insurance subcommittee. He has also lectured at the Southern California Tax and Estate Planning Forum; Minnesota Continuing Legal Education; and the Hennepin County Bar Association. Steve is also on the Board of Directors of the S Corporation Association, the national industry group that represents the interests of 4.7 million family-owned S Corporations on tax matters.

In working with the S Corporation Association, Steve has been the initial author (and a key part of the advocacy group) that lobbied for changes in the Internal Revenue Code that were ultimately enacted into law. These provisions made it easier for family-owned S Corporation businesses to access capital, by limiting the application of the Built-in-Gains Tax and the Passive Investment Income Tax.

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