ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL OF SAN DIEGO

Topic:

Strategies for Intra-Family Succession of Closely Held Business & Sales
Speakers: Rebecca Van Loon, Cheryl Kessler, Stephanie Downer

Explore family succession planning and third party exit strategies for closely held businesses. This session will analyze the various estate tax, gift tax and income tax planning consequences and opportunities for entrepreneur/business owner-clients and their families. Discusses the use of GRATs, sales to grantor trusts, reorganizations, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, QSBS, opportunity trusts, and more to accomplish these wealth transfer planning objectives

Rebecca Van Loon | Lawyer
 

Rebecca Van Loon is an established leader in the estate planning community and an asset to the clients she represents. With a practice focusing in the areas of estate planning, trust and probate administration and taxation law, Ms. Van Loon assists families and individuals with all aspects of their estate planning needs, including wills, trusts, advance health care directives and financial powers of attorney. She also assists clients with estate, gift and property tax planning, including charitable gift planning. 

Uniquely, Ms. Van Loon is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Only approximately five percent of California's attorneys are certified as specialists by the State Bar.

Ms. Van Loon received her Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Gonzaga University in 2007. She earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Willamette University College of Law in 2010. While in law school, Ms. Van Loon participated in the Trusts and Estates Legal Clinic and competed in the Jessup International moot court competition. She also studied abroad in Spain, Italy, and Germany. Ms. Van Loon also holds an LL.M in Taxation, magna cum laude, from the University of San Diego School of Law, which she earned in 2011.

Recently, Ms. Van Loon's practice has grown to incorporate international estate planning (inbound/outbound for citizens/residents and non-citizen residents), as well as the representation of individuals, private professional fiduciaries and corporate trustees as fiduciaries through trust and estate administrations.

The mother of a toddler, Ms. Van Loon is an avid fan of the San Diego Symphony and enjoys running, golfing, traveling and college basketball.

Cheryl Kessler | Managing Director
 

Cheryl Kessler is a Managing Director in CBIZ's Forensic Consulting Group. She is an expert in valuation opinions for marital dissolutions, gift and estate tax purposes, partner buyouts, mergers & acquisitions and ESOPs. For over 25 years, Ms. Kessler has helped closely-held companies, large and small, in many industries determine the value of their equity.

Ms. Kessler presents a credible, defensible and easy to understand analysis of forensic accounting and complex valuation issues in concise reports and/or via expert testimony.

Ms. Kessler has the experience, knowledge and expertise to perform business valuations, income for support analysis and forensic accounting for family law and civil litigation cases. She has significant experience as a §730 neutral expert, §639 Special Master and a CA Corp Code Section 2000 expert. In addition, she has been qualified as an expert in San Diego and El Centro Superior courts.

Stephanie Downer | Attorney

Stephanie S. Downer is a member of the Tax, Benefits, & Estate Planning practice group in Buchalter's San Diego office. She primarily focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, wealth transfer planning, transfer tax minimization, trust administration, and probate law. Ms. Downer regularly advises professionals, families, and business owners in all aspects of estate planning including revocable living trust plans, gift and estate tax planning with irrevocable trusts, charitable gift planning, property tax planning, and trust administration. 

Ms. Downer is a certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Approximately only five percent of California's attorneys are certified as specialist by the State Bar of California. Ms. Downer further holds an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of San Diego School of Law.

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