Janice Lawrence, a partner in FLK's San Francisco office, heads the firm's Trusts and Estates practice group. Her practice is focused on estate planning for high net worth individuals, including preparation of all types of estate planning documents, and advising clients about gifting strategies, charitable planning, premarital planning, post-death administration of trusts and estates and the formation and administration of non-profit foundations. Ms. Lawrence also works closely with FLK litigators in advising clients involved in trusts and estates disputes.
Ms. Lawrence began law practice in 1983 and joined FLK in 1988.
Representative Matters
Representing clients in planning and drafting their basic estate planning documents, including Revocable Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directives.
Advising clients in planning tax-advantaged wealth transfers to children, trusts for children and multi-generational trusts and drafting appropriate documents.
Assisting clients in understanding and analyzing various wealth transfer strategies, including grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs) family limited partnerships (FLPs) and irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs).
Advising Executors and Trustees about post-death estate and trust administration, including analysis of complex estate tax issues.
Preparing gift tax returns (Form 709) and estate tax returns (Form 706).
Preparing requests for IRS private letter rulings and negotiating with the IRS about the outcome of such ruling requests.
Advising clients about charitable planning and the vehicles that can most tax-efficiently accomplish their goals, including private foundations of all levels of complexity, donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts, and the termination and division of charitable vehicles where appropriate.
Working with FLK litigators in advising our clients in trust and estates dispute regarding the viability of their positions.
Preparing and negotiating premarital agreements that accomplish the client's goals with a minimum of contentiousness.
Advising charitable organizations regarding estates and trusts of which they are beneficiaries and about their own planned giving vehicles.
Publications
"Lyon and Fogerty: Unprecedented Extensions of the Public Trust," 70 California Law Review 1138, 1982.
Presentations
Various presentations for charitable groups, including Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc. and the American Lung Association, regarding estate planning.
Education
University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D. 1983 (Order of the Coif, California Law Review)
Columbia University, M.A. in English 1965
Barnard College, B.A. 1963
Memberships
Member, American Bar Association, Real property, Probate & Trust and Taxation Section
Member, State Bar of California, Taxation, Trusts & Estates Section
Member and past chair, vice-chair and secretary of Bar Association of San Francisco, Probate and Trust Law Section
Member, San Francisco Estate Planning Council
Chair, Northern California Public Broadcasting, Inc. Planned Giving Advisory Council.
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