What strategies will be most effective for families in the coming year in light of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act? How can business owners and investors take advantage of unprecedented opportunities for tax savings? And how is AI rapidly evolving client advice?
Join Northern Trust and industry experts at our sixth annual Wealth Planning Symposium, where we will discuss our outlooks, insights and action items on the most vital planning issues of 2026 and beyond.
Sessions are expected to qualify for continuing education credits. Available credits include CLE, CFP, CIMA, CPWA, CTFA and CPE for CPAs.
The Northern Trust Institute’s 2026 Wealth Planning Symposium offers continuing education credits. CLE, CFP, CTFA, CIMA, CPWA and CPE for CPAs are offering up to 7.2 continuing education credits.
Continuing education credit will only be available for sessions attended in real time (not replay).
All attendees must attend each session for at least 60 minutes.
To receive credit, scan or click the QR codes on the console to access the ConferenceAdit platform. Log into ConferenceAdit using the email address you provided at registration and enter Event ID 2026WPS. You must check in at the start of each session by scanning or clicking the QR code to timestamp. At the end of the session, check out by scanning or clicking the QR code and entering the four-digit PIN provided. For CPE credit only, submit the four-digit PIN shared by the presenter mid-session using the QR code or link.
Shundrawn A. Thomas serves as the President of Asset Management. In his previous role as Executive Vice President, Head of Funds and Managed Accounts Group he was responsible for the development, management and distribution of the firm's mutual funds, institutional mutual funds and exchange-traded funds as well as related business activities. He also oversaw the Managed Accounts practice which provides investment advisory solutions to existing clients and financial intermediaries. His broad executive responsibilities involved developing long-term strategy, executing operating plans, managing client and vendor relationships and developing and retaining talented professionals.
Previously, Shundrawn served as President and Chief Executive of Northern Trust Securities, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Northern Trust Corporation. In addition to his general management responsibilities, he was responsible for overseeing financial management and working with regulators including FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also served as Head of Corporate Strategy for Northern Trust Corporation. As a direct report to the Chief Executive Officer, he supported executive management with key strategic planning initiatives. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Shundrawn served as a vice president for Goldman Sachs and held positions in sales, trading and research with Morgan Stanley.
Shundrawn received a B.S. degree in Accounting from Florida A&M University and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He has also completed executive education programs in corporate strategy at Chicago Booth School of Business and corporate governance at University of Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business. Shundrawn currently holds the FINRA series 7, 63 and 24 securities licenses.
In this session, our panel examines both common and emerging family office structures through the lenses of tax efficiency, governance, fiduciary responsibility and operational practicality. In consideration of recent industry trends and relevant case law, including Lender Management v. Commissioner, the panel examines how families and their advisors evaluate, design and adapt family office structures. Particular attention is paid to ownership, compensation, profit allocation, fiduciary risk and the growing complexity facing family offices today.
Featuring
Mary Ann Sisco | Northern Trust
Gretchen Spreitzer | Northern Trust
Eric Johnson | Deloitte Tax LLP
Elise McGee | McDermott Will & Schulte LLP
Delaware’s Beneficiary Well-Being Trust statute provides a framework for aligning trust structures with family values that extend beyond financial outcomes — including personal growth, emotional well-being and legacy stewardship. In this session, our panelists discuss the statutory framework, key drafting considerations and practical impact of trust modifications on trustee-beneficiary relationships, beneficiary well-being and family cohesion.
Featuring
Wing Wilson | Northern Trust
Jocelyn Borowsky | Duane Morris LLP
Wendy Goffe | Ogden Murphy Wallace
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) expanded the income tax benefits of investing in qualified small business stock (QSBS) and brought renewed attention to the available opportunities. In this session, our panel of experts discusses requirements for issuing QSBS; planning for business owners and other investors; the treatment of QSBS received as executive compensation; and issues facing both donors and trustees when QSBS is placed in trust.
Featuring
Jane Ditelberg | Northern Trust
Maggie Bafia | Grant Thornton
Paul DePasquale | Baker McKenzie
Meghan Federman | Lowenstein Sandler LLP
Globally connected families are on the rise. In this session, our experts explore cross-border planning using trusts in U.S. jurisdictions, including Delaware, with a focus on non-U.S. parties establishing trusts in the United States. The discussion addresses planning considerations for such globally connected families and how U.S. trusts are commonly used in international wealth strategies. Additionally, panelists will discuss key issues trustees and advisors need to be aware of in trust administration— both during the lifetime of the settlor and following death.
Featuring
Dave Diamond | Northern Trust
Simon Beck | Baker McKenzie LLP
Leigh-Alexandra Basha | McDermott Will & Schulte
The OBBBA reshaped the individual tax landscape, beginning in 2025. This session discusses the use of Form 1040 as a planning roadmap to explore income-, deduction- and trust-related strategies for taxpayers navigating the new rules. The panel discusses planning opportunities for wages, capital gains, retirement distributions and Roth conversions as well as new limitations affecting itemized deductions, charitable giving and SALT deductions. Attendees will gain insights into strategies to mitigate these limitations and how the provisions apply to both individual and fiduciary taxpayers.
Featuring
Robert Westley | Northern Trust
David Barral | Northern Trust
Paige Goepfert | Andersen Tax LLC
Kevin Matz | ArentFox Schiff LLP
How is AI reshaping wealth planning? And what are the key considerations practitioners must manage in their responsible use of the technology? In this session, panelists examine how AI tools are supporting wealth planning professionals as, concurrently, they navigate new risks around data privacy, confidentiality and professional responsibility, including regulatory expectations, ethical responsibilities and best practices for supervising AI‑assisted work. Participants will gain a better understanding of leveraging AI responsibly to enhance client service while maintaining the highest standards of professional integrity.
Featuring
Audrey Skiera | Northern Trust
Donald Moon | Northern Trust
Vijay Luthra | Northern Trust
Lisa Vandesteeg | Levenfeld Pearlstein
Mary Ann serves as the Head of Global Family Office (GFO) Advisory. In this role, she leads a multidisciplinary team that delivers integrated Advisory Services across our GFO platform including Family Office Technology, Partnership Accounting, Family Office Advisory and Wealth Planning. She brings over 30 years of experience in advising individuals and families in areas such as wealth transfer, business succession and transition planning, family office planning, risk management and philanthropy.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Mary Ann held several positions with JP Morgan, including National Director of the Wealth Advisory Practice and was a member of the Global Fiduciary Operating Committee. Before that, she spent many years as a private practice attorney in Chicago.
Mary Ann has served on the faculty of the American Bankers Association National Trust School, and as a guest lecturer at Chicago-Kent College of Law. She is regular speaker for many professional and civic groups and is a frequent commentator on wealth transfer planning issues. She has been quoted in various publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Penta, Fortune, Smart Money, Business Week and U.S. News & World Report. Mary Ann is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council and the Chicago Finance Exchange. She was a recipient of the Northern Trust Chairman’s Award.
Mary Ann is a member of the Planned Giving Committee at WTTW/WFMT and has been on the Planned Giving Committee for Family Shelter Services of DuPage County, and the Young Professionals Board for the Chicago Community Trust.
She received her Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Toledo and her Juris Doctor degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. She is an adjunct professor in the LLM Program for Tax and Employee Benefits at the John Marshall Law School.
Mary Ann is married with two children and lives in Downers Grove. She is an avid traveler and loves to show her children new places.
Jocelyn Margolin Borowsky, a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel ("ACTEC"), practices in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration and fiduciary litigation in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Sophisticated Estate Planning. A large part of her practice involves the review of clients' overall estate plans, preparation of wills and revocable trusts, and implementation of sophisticated trusts, such as lifetime spousal lifetime access trusts, asset protection trusts, life insurance trusts, dynasty trusts, BOLI trusts, DINGs, BDITs, GRATs and IDGTs. Ms. Borowsky also works with closely-held family businesses and professionals on issues involving strategic tax and business planning, and the creation of private family foundations and represents executives of publicly traded companies and shareholders of privately held companies going public.
Modification and Other Advice on Delaware Trusts. Ms. Borowsky routinely advises clients with respect to resolving trust administration matters, modifying trusts, structuring new Delaware trusts and transferring existing trusts to Delaware through decanting or other means. As the Chair of the state bar statutory drafting committees, she is well versed in the preparation of Delaware directed trusts and in the creation of confidential silent trusts. Ms. Borowsky also has served as an expert witness in matters involving a Delaware directed trusts, spendthrift protection, and an executor’s breach of fiduciary duty.
Litigation and Audits. Ms. Borowsky represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate litigation and in pre-litigation planning. She also handles tax controversy matters, including estate and gift tax audits by the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. She is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and listed in The Chambers Guide to the Leading High Net Worth Lawyers
Paul advises clients on a range of domestic and international tax matters, including mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, partnerships, financial transactions, trust and succession matters.
Paul focuses his practice on advising individuals, family offices, family-controlled, and founder-backed businesses on legal and tax matters.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- New York State Bar Association - Tax Section
- American Bar Association - Taxation and Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Sections
- Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEP) - Member
Robert A. Westley, CPA/PFS, CFP® is a Regional Wealth Advisor at Northern Trust, where he leads comprehensive wealth advisory engagements for ultra-high-net-worth individuals, senior executives, and multi-generational families across the Northeast. He specializes in advanced tax strategy, estate planning, and sophisticated financial planning, delivering integrated, goals-based advice designed to preserve, grow, and transfer wealth with precision.
At Northern Trust, Robert partners closely with clients and their professional advisors to design and oversee customized wealth strategies. He leverages advanced financial modeling and analytics to optimize outcomes across investment, tax, and estate considerations, helping clients navigate complexity with clarity and confidence.
Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2015, Robert was a Senior Tax Consultant in Deloitte’s Private Wealth practice in New York City. There, he advised ultra-wealthy families on complex gift and estate planning, income tax optimization, charitable giving strategies, and family office design.
Robert holds the Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designations. He is a nationally recognized authority on wealth management and taxation, frequently featured in leading financial media and published in prominent professional journals. An active member of the AICPA, he has served on multiple Personal Financial Planning committees and task forces.
Robert has been widely recognized for his professional contributions. He received the AICPA’s Standing Ovation Award for excellence in personal financial planning and has been named a “40 Under 40” by both CPA Practice Advisor and the NYSSCPA. In 2020, he was recognized in the InvestmentNews 40 Under 40 class for leadership, industry impact, and future potential, and in 2025 he was honored by InvestmentNews as a Five Star Financial Planner.
As Head of Wealth Advisory in the Family Office Solutions group, Audrey leads the advisory practice and select client engagements in dialogue centered on best practices in designing comprehensive wealth planning strategies for families and business owners. Audrey has extensive experience in the areas of wealth transfer planning, generational planning, business succession, philanthropy and estate administration.
Prior to joining Northern, Audrey was an attorney in private practice advising high net worth business owners, families and individuals on preserving and protecting wealth. After leaving private practice, she joined Credit Suisse Private Bank USA as a Senior Wealth Strategist collaborating with relationship managers to provide clients with wealth transfer and related planning strategies. From Credit Suisse Audrey joined MB Wealth Management as a Managing Director to lead the Wealth Strategy practice.
Audrey graduated from Boston College with a B.S. in Accounting and Operations & Strategic Management. She graduated Cum Laude from Loyola University Chicago School of Law with a J.D. and Tax Certificate. Audrey is also a registered C.P.A. in Illinois.
David M. Barral is a Senior Vice President and Senior Wealth Advisor in the New York City office. In this role, he serves as a financial planner to Northern Trust clients. David regularly works toward getting clients better organized. This frequently involves building out financial plans and projections for clients. The results allow him and the Northern Trust team to evaluate the current situation and provide their perspective for other strategies and alternatives that clients may want to consider. David also works with clients to help articulate and implement these strategies with their outside advisors (e.g., attorneys, accountants, life insurance professionals, etc.).
Prior to joining the firm, he practiced as a Certified Public Accountant with MBAF CPAs, LLC, which was later acquired by BDO USA, in New York City. David’s practice was concentrated on individual tax compliance and advisory services.
David is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) Professional and a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), which is awarded through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of New York.
David received his Bachelor of Science and his Master of Science in Accounting, both from St. John’s University. He later received his Master of Taxation degree from Villanova University.
Outside of Northern Trust, David served for four years as an Adjunct Professor at Wagner College’s Nicolais School of Business, where he taught the Advanced Federal Taxation course. He recently taught for three years in NYU’s Master’s in Financial Planning program. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA). David is the current Vice Chair as well as the incoming Chair of the Society’s Personal Financial Planning Committee. He has written articles on tax law and financial planning that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals and has been quoted in the popular press.
Jocelyn Margolin Borowsky, a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel ("ACTEC"), practices in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration and fiduciary litigation in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Sophisticated Estate Planning. A large part of her practice involves the review of clients' overall estate plans, preparation of wills and revocable trusts, and implementation of sophisticated trusts, such as lifetime spousal lifetime access trusts, asset protection trusts, life insurance trusts, dynasty trusts, BOLI trusts, DINGs, BDITs, GRATs and IDGTs. Ms. Borowsky also works with closely-held family businesses and professionals on issues involving strategic tax and business planning, and the creation of private family foundations and represents executives of publicly traded companies and shareholders of privately held companies going public.
Modification and Other Advice on Delaware Trusts. Ms. Borowsky routinely advises clients with respect to resolving trust administration matters, modifying trusts, structuring new Delaware trusts and transferring existing trusts to Delaware through decanting or other means. As the Chair of the state bar statutory drafting committees, she is well versed in the preparation of Delaware directed trusts and in the creation of confidential silent trusts. Ms. Borowsky also has served as an expert witness in matters involving a Delaware directed trusts, spendthrift protection, and an executor’s breach of fiduciary duty.
Litigation and Audits. Ms. Borowsky represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate litigation and in pre-litigation planning. She also handles tax controversy matters, including estate and gift tax audits by the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities. She is AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and listed in The Chambers Guide to the Leading High Net Worth Lawyers.
Eric L. Johnson is a Tax Partner at Deloitte Tax LLP in Chicago. His nearly thirty year career in public accounting has focused on serving ultra-wealthy individuals, family groups, family offices, private trust companies, and closely held business owners on tax, estate planning, and financial matters.
Eric currently serves as Deloitte’s Private Wealth Leader and Family Office Tax Leader for the U.S. Firm. He co-leads Deloitte’s National Family Office Forum at Deloitte University and Deloitte’s Chicago Family Office Forum. He also serves as the senior adviser on Deloitte’s Private Wealth Masters’ Program. Eric frequently lectures on family office matters and is an author for leading tax publications including The Tax Adviser, Trusts & Estates, Tax Notes, and Family Office Elite.
He previously served as Deloitte’s National Competency Leader for the Estate, Gift, Trust and Charitable (EGTC) Competency Group from 2012 – 2017.
Eric has been employed with Deloitte Tax LLP since May 2002. Formerly, he was with Arthur Andersen LLP from 1998 – 2002 and with KPMG Peat Marwick LLP from 1995 – 1998.
Eric is a former Chair of the AICPA Trust, Estate, and Gift Tax Technical Resource Panel (TRP). The TRP acts as the primary representative for the AICPA before Congress, Treasury and the IRS on legislative and regulatory matters in the estate, gift, and trust tax areas.
He also served as Chair of the AICPA Family Office Task Force, leading AICPA efforts in 2010 to provide comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission on drafting their “family office rule”, which provided an exemption from investment adviser registration to qualifying family offices.
Eric previously served on the 2014-2019 Steering Committee for the AICPA ENGAGE Conference, establishing the family office track of classes for the Conference on Tax Strategies for the High Net Worth Individual.
He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed in Illinois. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Illinois CPA Society (ICPAS).
As the Chief Information Officer for Wealth Management & Asset Management Technology, Vijay is responsible for delivering all technology services, including application and data delivery, to the business. In this role, he collaborates closely with business leaders to drive a multi-year digital strategy, ensuring that technology remains a key driver of growth and innovation.
With a strong background in technology and digital strategy, Vijay is an outcome-oriented technology leader who has led numerous large-scale transformations. His successes include hybrid cloud migration, business process re-engineering efforts, client journey-led initiatives, as well as core applications and infrastructure transformations. Vijay's exceptional ability to build partnerships and synergies with vendors, business partners, and senior IT leaders has contributed significantly to his track record of success. Moreover, his Silicon Valley relationships enable him to drive innovation and stay on the forefront of emerging technologies.
For over 25 years, Vijay has dedicated his career to various financial services verticals. In June 2013, he joined Northern Trust where he most recently served as the Chief Technology Officer. In this role, he led the Infrastructure Services functions across Data Center Technologies, Digital Workplace, Business-aligned Infrastructure, Cloud, DevOps, as well as the Service Delivery function. Prior to his role at Northern Trust, Vijay held positions at other large financial firms, including Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Julius Bar, and ITG.
Vijay obtained his Master's degree in Management Science and Bachelor's degree in Commerce from IIPS in Indore, India, and AJ College of Commerce at Mumbai University in India, respectively.
Donald Moon is an Assistant General Counsel at The Northern Trust Company. Since joining in 2019, he has been advising the bank and its affiliates (which are regulated financial institutions) in a broad range of complex technology arrangements and commercial transactions including strategic outsourcing, technology and data licensing, artificial intelligence, cloud transactions (e.g., SaaS/IaaS/PaaS agreements), and related contract issues. Donald also advises the Procurement organization on escalated issues, strategies, best practices, and operational procedures to improve efficiencies, all throughout the contract lifecycle. Prior to joining The Northern Trust Company, Donald practiced in the Chicago office of Mayer Brown in the Technology Transactions group for 9 years. Before practicing law, Donald worked for over 10 years as a programmer/analyst developing and supporting applications primarily for insurance and banking organizations.
Wing Wilson is a Senior Vice President and the Chief Fiduciary Officer for Northern Trust’s United States Northeast & South Regions, which include 30 offices from Texas through Florida to the New England States. She oversees all aspects of the fiduciary practice and is responsible for the fiduciary and advisory services provided to individuals, families and foundations.
Wing has more than 15 years of experience overseeing complex wealth transfer structures and managing fiduciary relationships while helping clients, their advisors and family offices, navigate complexities throughout the fiduciary lifecycle. Her focus is on ensuring skillful and prudent stewardship of client assets held in trust structures and helping clients achieve their goals.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Wing was a Director, Senior Regional Fiduciary Manager for the broader New York region at BNY Mellon Wealth Management, where she served in multiple fiduciary services roles. Prior to that, she was with Citi Private Bank as a Senior Vice President, Senior Trust Officer and with JPMorgan Private Bank as a Vice President, Senior Trust Officer.
Wing earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies from Mercy College. She holds a Trust School Certificate from the American Bankers Association and is a member of the Trust Legislative Committee of the New York Bankers Association and the Estate Planning Council of New York City.
Simon Beck is a partner and co-chair of the North American Private Capital Group. Simon is an international tax and trust lawyer based in the Baker & McKenzie New York office.
Simon lectures regularly on trust, financial service and compliance issues at global wealth management and international trust and estate planning conferences around the world.
Simon focuses his practice on international tax and trust planning, as well as US federal and international securities and banking regulations. He advises global family offices, financial institutions, and closely owned businesses. He is a recognized leader in the use of Private Trust Companies.
Maggie is an M&A Tax Partner in our Chicago office specializing in mergers and acquisitions tax consulting. She has worked closely on numerous transactions with complex tax issues arising from transactions and other M&A activities including a variety of transactions to assist clients with buy- and sell-side due diligence, tax structuring and modeling, merger integration and tax attributes analysis.
Maggie has extensive experience with cross-border due diligence and structuring engagements, working directly with Grant Thornton International Ltd member firms in various countries, helping clients efficiently and effectively execute on multi-national transactions.
Maggie is a Certified Public Accountant. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from Loyola University Chicago and a Masters of Science in Taxation from DePaul University.
Leigh-Alexandra Basha focuses her practice on domestic and international tax and estate planning. She counsels an affluent international client base on a wide range of sophisticated matters, including estate and trust administration, family wealth preservation, foreign trust planning, tax compliance, as well as business succession, expatriation, and pre-immigration planning. Leigh is head of the firm’s Washington, DC, Private Client Practice Group.
Leigh was an adjunct professor of wills, trusts and estates at American University Washington College of Law. She lectures and has written extensively about international tax and estate planning issues, and is editor of A Guide to International Estate Planning: Drafting, Compliance, and Administration Strategies, Second Edition.
Dave is the President of The Northern Trust Company of Delaware, a Delaware limited purpose trust company in Wilmington, Delaware. In this role, he is responsible for the oversight of Northern's Delaware office which was opened in 2004 and now has over $23 billion of assets under custody.
Prior to joining Northern, Dave was an attorney with Gordon, Fournaris Mammarella, P.A. (GFM), where he primarily focused on the unique aspects of Delaware trust law. Prior to practicing law with GFM, Dave enjoyed 25 years with J.P. Morgan. There he began his career as a trust officer and ultimately served as Managing Director President of J.P. Morgan Trust Company of Delaware.
Prior to managing Northern's Delaware office, Dave served as the National Trust Specialist for Northern Trust. In that role he was responsible for working with clients and prospects, professional advisors, and Northern partners in developing solutions involving Northern's Nevada and Delaware trust capabilities.
With over 30 years of experience in the trust, wealth, and estate management industries, Dave is dedicated to serving the complex needs of those seeking expert advice on ways to leverage the most tax-advantaged jurisdictions in the United States, with the goal of preserving multi-generational wealth for high-net worth individuals and families.
Jane is a Senior Vice President and Chief Tax Strategist for Northern Trust. She works with clients and their advisors to develop tax efficient solutions to meet their wealth and financial planning goals, with information on new tax developments as well as expertise gained from thirty-five years in the industry. She is responsible for developing Northern Trust’s perspective and insights on tax issues, including individual and entity income taxation, employee benefits and executive compensation, estate, GST and gift taxation, and fiduciary income taxation. She publishes Northern Trust’s weekly newsletter, Tax News You Can Use.
Prior to her current role, Jane served as Director of Tax Planning for the Northern Trust Institute and as Assistant General Counsel in the Legal Department at Northern Trust working with our Wealth Management team and gaining unique insights into the estate and tax planning concerns of our clients.
Prior to joining Northern Trust, Jane spent a combined 17 years in the private practice of law with Foley & Larder and then Sidley LLP in Chicago, where her practice was limited to trusts, estates, and related areas of taxation As part of her practice, she oversaw the preparation and filing of tax returns, provided covered tax advice, handled tax audits and filed numerous requests for private letter rulings with the IRS.
Jane received her Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University in 1988 and her J.D. degree magna cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 1991, where she was elected to Order of the Coif and served as Executive Editor of the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. She was admitted to the bar in Illinois and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 1991.
Jane is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. With ACTEC, Jane has participated in the preparation of comments to the U.S. Treasury Department on tax statutes and proposed regulations, as well as drafting influential briefs amicus curiae to the United States Supreme Court on tax issues. She has served as an advisor to various committees of the Uniform Law Commission and participated in the drafting of model state statutes on trust and estate topics. She has also drafted legislation for the State of Illinois as part of the Trust Code Task Force of the Chicago Bar Association. She is a frequent author and lecturer on a wide range of trust, estate and tax topics for national audiences of trust and estate professionals.
Meghan Federman counsels high-net-worth individuals, families, and family offices on sophisticated estate planning and wealth transfer strategies tailored to preserve and grow multigenerational wealth. She works closely with clients to develop integrated estate and business succession plans, and she guides fiduciaries and beneficiaries through all aspects of trust and estate administration, including probate proceedings, tax filings, and asset distribution.
With a background in corporate law, Meg brings a strategic and business-savvy perspective to her work with corporate executives – including principals of private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds – as well as founders and owners of closely held businesses. She regularly assists clients with:
- Designing and implementing complex trust arrangements to optimize wealth transfer and minimize estate taxes
- Creating and restructuring family limited partnerships (FLPs) and limited liability companies (LLCs) to facilitate intra-family asset transfers, protect assets, and maintain control over family businesses
- Developing customized family governance policies and protocols to help multigenerational families manage wealth and business interests harmoniously
- Planning with qualified small business stock (QSBS) to maximize potential gain exclusion without losing sight of broader estate planning goals
- Structuring charitable giving through private foundations, charitable lead and remainder trusts, and donor-advised funds
- Modeling economic outcomes to evaluate available estate planning techniques based on a client’s specific assets and growth potential
- Counseling clients on wealth preservation strategies related to business liquidity events, such as IPOs, mergers, or sales
- Representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all phases of trust and estate administration, including probate and tax compliance
Paige Goepfert is a managing director and Client Group Lead for Andersen’s Private Client Services practice and works with ultra-high-net-worth families, family offices, business owners, and executives on tax planning and income tax compliance.
Paige has over 20 years of experience in accounting specializing in pass-through, individual, fiduciary, and estate taxation. For family office clients, Paige provides expertise on a variety of tax matters with a focus on the structuring of family offices, the development and implementation of multi-generational wealth transfer plans, and preparation of related tax returns.
She also consults with clients regarding other planning matters, including the use of partnerships, gifting, private foundations, and other charitable vehicles. Paige also works with executors and estate administrators to manage a decedent’s estate.
Paige frequently lectures on estate planning, taxation of trusts, and wealth strategies for the AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference and a variety of other professional venues. She has also published an article in The Tax Adviser: Important Lessons Regarding Valuation Issues.
Wendy Goffe has more than 30 years of experience counseling clients on estate planning issues, including representing and collaborating with private collectors, foundations, museums, and art advisors needing legal counsel related to the purchase, sale, gifting, and recovery of fine art and other creative works. Wendy has advised clients on probate and trust administration, estate and gift taxation, charitable giving and nonprofit entities, and issues concerning unmarried couples. She has extensive experience preparing prenuptial, postnuptial, and cohabitation agreements.
Wendy is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law. She is a member of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils’ Estate (NAEPC) Planning Hall of Fame and a recipient of the NAEPC Accredited Estate Planner (Distinguished) designation.
Wendy is a regular speaker at local, regional, and national events addressing a variety of estate planning topics. She has also been interviewed by and written for many national publications.
Pam Lucina leads Family Office Solutions, our offering for ultra-high net worth individuals and families that combines custom advisory expertise with institutional family office capabilities. In this role, she oversees a dedicated team within our Global Family Office business that supports clients as an outsourced family office.
Previously, Pam served as Northern Trust’s Chief Fiduciary Officer for six years. Prior to joining Northern Trust, Pam was with BNY Mellon, where she held the national role of Executive Director for its Wealth Management Advice, Planning and Fiduciary Services practice. Previous to that she was with JPMorgan, providing wealth and estate planning services, and also spent 10 years in private practices as a tax consultant with Arthur Andersen, and in the trusts and estates departments of both Levin Schreder and Mayer Brown law firms.
Pam has a strong background in wealth, tax, philanthropic and business owner planning; she also brings expertise in next-generation education, governance and global family office matters. She is a recognized leader and speaker within the estate and trust legal community.
She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a member of the National Services Leadership Team and the Wealth Management Executive Leadership Team, groups that oversee the direction of Northern Trust’s Wealth Management Business.
Pam earned her B.S. degree in business administration and management from Marquette University and her Doctor of Law (J.D.), Taxation from DePaul University.
Pam is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Lincoln Park Zoo and a member of the Planned Giving Board for The Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She is a frequent speaker and has been featured on CNBC & Bloomberg, and quoted in Dow Jones, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron’s, Forbes, MarketWatch, Crain’s Chicago Business, U.S. News & World Report and Business Insider.
Kevin counsels clients on wealth transfer planning; drafting wills and trusts; gift, estate, income, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning and tax return preparation; charitable gift planning; probate proceedings and estate administration; and associated litigation as well as corporate counseling.
Kevin often serves as outside general counsel to his high net worth clients and their family offices, and melds a unique combination of technical and practical excellence with outstanding skills as both a communicator and empathic listener.
Kevin has advised clients on entity and succession planning, including use of family limited partnerships, use of grantor retained annuity trusts, transfers to irrevocable trusts involving complex valuations, qualified personal residence trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and the use of charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and private foundations to further family planning and philanthropic objectives.
Kevin is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), for which he currently chairs its Business Planning Committee, and also a certified public accountant. Kevin is also currently the chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Estate and Gift Taxation Committee, and a former co-chair of the Taxation Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Trusts and Estates Law Section. A frequent speaker and author, Kevin presents at national industry conferences on the use of leveraged transfer techniques and estate planning for groups ranging from private equity fund managers and real estate investors to professional athletes and creative artists. Highly regarded by peers and clients, Kevin is ranked among industry leaders in the 2020 - 2023 Chambers High Net Worth guides, and was the Honoree at the UJA-Federation of New York Trusts and Estates Annual Event in June 2023 in recognition of his professional and philanthropic achievements and leadership.
In addition, Kevin is a recognized national leader in the area of qualified opportunity zone (QOZ) funds, and in July 2019 testified on ACTEC’s behalf before the U.S. Department of Treasury concerning the proposed regulations on qualified opportunity funds. Kevin has also presented on QOZ funds, and their estate planning considerations, at several national conferences including the renowned Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and the Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute.
Elise J. McGee advises high-net-worth individuals and business owners on all aspects of wealth-transfer planning, including estate and trust administration, leveraged wealth-transfer techniques, tax matters, cryptocurrency and QSBS planning, real estate transactions and closely held business matters. Elise has extensive experience working with owners of closely held businesses to develop governance and succession plans, and on corporate, tax and compliance matters relating to those businesses.
Elise specializes in the formation and operation of private trust companies, and has advised clients on these structures in multiple jurisdictions. Elise has worked with state regulators to develop customized private trust company structures for clients, including for international families. Most recently, she co-drafted Wyoming’s 2019 trust company legislation including 2021 legislative updates. Elise has analyzed SEC and regulatory compliance issues facing private trust companies, and has helped clients develop policies and procedures for their private trust companies. She also advises clients on the litigation and regulatory risks facing private trust companies and their decision-makers.
Elise works with clients, including registered investment advisers and multi-family offices, to establish and transition trusteeship to retail trust companies. She also advises retail trust companies on cryptocurrency custody matters. She helps clients structure the multi-jurisdictional relationships between trust companies, family offices and closely held businesses.
Elise speaks frequently on the subject of estate planning, state income tax strategies, digital assets and trust companies. She has lectured at the University of Wyoming College of Law and serves on the Executive Committee of the Chicago Bar Association Trust Law Committee.
While in law school, Elise was an executive editor for The Michigan Journal of Race & Law. Prior to law school, she worked as a senior research analyst for Lexecon, where she performed research and statistical analyses focusing on the application of economics to litigation.
Lisa Vandesteeg is a Partner in the Financial Services & Restructuring Group at Levenfeld Pearlstein. She focuses on identifying risk exposure and mitigating liability for clients, with a concentration in the areas of bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, commercial litigation, and data security and privacy.
She represents secured creditors, debtors, unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, landlords, and shareholders in bankruptcy courts throughout the U.S, as well as representing clients in civil litigation in federal and state courts.
Her passion is helping clients identify and resolve potential problems related to creditors’ rights, troubled businesses, bankruptcy and workouts, and business disputes. She strives to resolve disputes without litigation, but when necessary, she will litigate cases logically and efficiently. She prioritizes client communication and an ongoing understanding of the clients’ objectives and what “success” in a particular case looks like so she can create a customized plan of action.
Lisa advises clients on cybersecurity and privacy compliance and regulatory issues. She also guides clients in developing and implementing information security programs that are reasonable and appropriate for their specific business needs and risks, as well as advising them in responding to data breaches.
Lisa was recognized individually in the 2022-2025 editions of Chambers USA in the area of Bankruptcy/Restructuring: Illinois. Chambers noted that, according to her clients, "Lisa is a capable and competent partner, and a very effective speaker. She can bring order to a chaotic situation."
Simon Beck is a partner and co-chair of the North American Private Capital Group. Simon is an international tax and trust lawyer based in the Baker & McKenzie New York office.
Simon lectures regularly on trust, financial service and compliance issues at global wealth management and international trust and estate planning conferences around the world.
Simon focuses his practice on international tax and trust planning, as well as US federal and international securities and banking regulations. He advises global family offices, financial institutions, and closely owned businesses. He is a recognized leader in the use of Private Trust Companies.
As the Practice Executive for GFO Fiduciary in Chicago, Gretchen provides guidance and serves as a strategic fiduciary resource for ultra high net worth families and family offices. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and GFO sponsored events across the globe. Gretchen is the former Co-Chair of the WM Investment Oversight Committee. Gretchen also chaired the GFO Fiduciary Committee and was a voting member of the WM Concentration Committee and past Co-Chair of the National Trust Acceptance Committee.
Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2015, Gretchen was in private practice, where she specialized in trust, tax and estate planning. She also worked as a small business consultant, offering CFO, benefit, and corporate governance services on an outsourced basis. Before her time in private practice, she worked as a futures trader in Chicago where she developed and implemented successful electronic trading strategies in the short term debt and energy markets.
Gretchen graduated from University of Massachusetts with a BA and from Loyola University Chicago with a JD and LLM in taxation.
Gretchen is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council where she serves on the Workshop Committee.
