Bob serves as the firm's Managing Director and his practice involves the planning and implementation of many estate plans, from the basic to the more complex and involving all levels of net worth. His practice includes preparing various types of trusts. He has represented estates at the IRS field audit level and appellate level. He has extensive experience in probate litigation including will contests, estate claims and declaratory judgment actions. Bob is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is certified in Ohio as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law. He is listed in the most recent editions of The Best Lawyers in America and Ohio Super Lawyers. He received his B.A. from the University of Kentucky, with Distinction, and his J.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Noteworthy Experience
- Representing an estate in the successful challenge to the Ohio Department of Taxation's attempt to decouple Ohio's additional estate tax from federal law.
- Has handled several cases at the appellate level and before the Ohio Supreme Court.
Publications & Speaking Engagements
- The “Soft” Side of Business Succession Planning (August 2023 & September 2023)
- Client Alert: American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
- Client Alert: An Important New Asset Protection Tool: The Ohio Legacy Trust Act, March 2013
- Client Alert: Estate Planning and Tax Issues after DOMA is Ruled Unconstitutional, August 2013
- Client Alert: Happy New Year! The Death Tax Lives
- Estate Planning and Administration in the Digital Age, September 2014
- Tax Apportionment: How it Works, Why it Matters (Columbus Daily Reporter)
- Premarital Agreements: Key Element of Effective Long-Term Financial Plan (Business First)
- Estate Planning and Transfer Tax Updates: February 2009
- Snowbirds Come Home: Tax Policy Revision Intended to Reverse Ohio Wealth and Talent Drain
Bob has given numerous presentations to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the Columbus Bar Association, the John L. Sauter Estate Planning Seminar, and the Ohio State Bar Association, as well as to charitable entities including the Columbus Foundation, the Catholic Foundation, the Central Ohio Planned Giving Council, and the Columbus Jewish Foundation on topics such as gifting of retirement assets to charity, estate tax apportionment, Ohio estate tax issues, and qualified personal residence trusts.
Professional Recognition
- Peer Review Rated AV in Martindale Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America (Trusts and Estates)
- Ohio Super Lawyers, 2023 (Estate Planning and Probate)
Affiliations and Civic Involvement
- Fellow, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
- Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (Ohio State Bar Association)
- Member, American Bar Association, Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law
- Member, Ohio State Bar Association, Probate and Trust Law Section
- Member, Columbus Bar Association, Probate Committee, Estate and Gift Tax Committee.
- Board of Directors of the Columbus Bar Services Agency, Inc.
- Member, Columbus Estate Planning Council
- Member, The Columbus Foundation Legal Advisory Committee
- Member, The Catholic Foundation Professional Advisors Group
- Board of Trustees, Mount Carmel Health System Foundation
- Lawyers Club of Columbus (President, 2009)
Education
- Vanderbilt University (J.D., 1991) Associate Editor, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
- Johnson & Gibbs Appellate Advocacy Award
- University of Kentucky (B.A., 1988, with Distinction)
Bar Admissions
- Ohio (1991)
- United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit (2002)
- United States Tax Court (2000)
- United States District Court, Southern District of Ohio (1992)