Private Wealth Conference

Robert is a partner with Keebler & Associates, LLP and the current chairman of the AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference. In 2007 he was inducted into the Estate Planning Hall of Fame of National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. He has also been named by CPA Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners in the United States and one of the Top 40 Tax Advisors to Know During a Recession. His practice includes family wealth transfer and preservation planning, charitable giving, retirement distribution planning, and estate administration. Mr. Keebler frequently represents clients before the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the private letter ruling process and in estate, gift and income tax examinations and appeals, and he has received more than 200 favorable private letter rulings including several key rulings of “first impression”. He is the author of over 100 articles and columns and is the editor, author or co-author of many books and treatises on wealth transfer and taxation. Mr. Keebler has been a speaker at national estate planning and tax seminars for over 20 years including the AICPA’s: Estate Planning, High Income, Advanced Financial Planning Conferences, ABA Conferences, NAPEC Conferences, The Notre Dame Estate Planning Conference and the Heckerling Estate Planning Institute.

Michael Schwartz advises high net worth individuals, fiduciaries and family offices on sophisticated private client matters involving trusts and estates, including tax and succession planning. His practice focuses on domestic and multijurisdictional estate planning for high net worth individuals, extending to all facets of estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning. Michael also assists clients with succession and governance planning in contemplation of the transition of assets from generation to generation.

In addition, Michael advises fiduciaries and beneficiaries on all phases of estate and trust administration. He also has extensive experience with gift and estate tax audits.

Michael is a leading voice in the field of trusts and estates. He has been a frequent speaker, author and contributor to publications on issues relating to trusts, estates and succession planning. He has been a ranked practitioner in private client law in New York in Chambers HNW* since the inception of its rankings. In 2023, he was elected to serve as Chair of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, where he has also served as Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. He was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Estate Planning Council of New York City, where he also served as Co-Chair of the International Estate Planning Committee. In addition, Michael is a Fellow of the prestigious American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law in New York City, teaching a class entitled Trusts and Estates Drafting, and is the co-author of the 14th edition of the Practicing Law Institute treatise entitled Stocker on Drawing Wills and Trusts, which is updated annually.

Marjorie W. Hornaday advises high net worth individuals and families regarding their estate planning needs, working closely with clients to address personal, family and business concerns, as well as opportunities to mitigate federal and state wealth transfer taxes. She also counsels public and private charities and corporate fiduciaries.

Recognizing that effective wealth transfer planning often involves complex legal concepts, Marjorie prioritizes clients' comprehension of their estate plans to ensure they can make informed decisions about their assets.

Marjorie's experience includes preparation of complex wills and trusts; family business succession planning; planning with intellectual property assets, particularly with respect to high-profile individuals in the entertainment industry; estate and trust administration, including trust "decanting," fiduciary accountings and preparation of federal and state estate tax returns; and charitable gift planning.

Benjamin "Ben" Millard, a trusts and estates attorney, advises high net worth individuals and families on wills and trusts, lifetime gift planning and estate planning. He also has experience analyzing issues with estate litigation and estate planning, including income, estate, partnership, gift and generation skipping transfer tax issues.

Ben drafts wills, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, generation skipping trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, transfer documents, LLC operating agreements and promissory notes. He also participates in estate administration proceedings. Ben also assists clients in the preparation of tax forms, including gift and estate tax returns.

Ben was a legal extern in the Appellate Division at the Onondaga County District Attorney's Office; a legal intern at the Kings County District Attorney's Office; and a research assistant at Syracuse University College of Law.

Ben couples his focus and dedication with his diverse professional background to craft and implement creative solutions to achieve clients' needs.

Stacia Kroetz leads the Wealth Planning team in the New York Multi-Family Office of BBH. In this role she advises families and business owners on matters relating to tax and estate planning, philanthropy, business succession, and the preservation of wealth for future generations.

Prior to joining the firm, Stacia was in private legal practice in the Trusts and Estates department at Seward & Kissel LLP, where she focused on estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning. Earlier in her career, she was an auditor at KPMG.

Stacia received a B.S. in accounting summa cum laude from Fordham University, an MBA from Fordham University Graduate School of Business Administration, a J.D. from Boston College Law School, and an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law. She is also a licensed CPA.

Kim joined Gresham in 2014. Her role involves working across all client families and supporting the client service team in helping clients with their estate planning, estate and trust administration, philanthropy, family learning, and rising generation engagement and education.

Prior to Gresham, Kim was a partner in Private Clients, Trusts, and Estates Group at a large national law firm known for the quality of its estate planning practice, working with clients on a wide array of succession planning, trust and estate administration, asset protection, entity restructuring, and charitable issues. She also represented wealth owners, beneficiaries, fiduciaries, and custodians in contested matters and served as counsel for the formation and operation of non-profits.

Outside of the office, Kim is an adjunct professor at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law where she was awarded the William M. Trumbull Lectureship, and has taught Advanced Trusts and Estates, Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates, and Estate Planning. She is also on faculty for the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®) program through the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Executive Education.

Kim is a Past Regent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), is Past President of the Chicago Estate Planning Council, and serves on the Advisory Board, Leaders Council and as Estate Planning & Legal Domain Chair for the UHNW Institute. She also serves on the Founders’ Committee for the University of Chicago Center of Law and Finance.

Kim is on the UHNW Families & Family Offices Committee of the Trusts & Estates Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, on the Investments & Wealth Review Editorial Advisory Board, and has authored numerous pieces at http://wealthmanagement.com/author/kimkamin.  She has published on a wide variety of  topics and is also a frequent lecturer in a variety of venues across the country.

She is co-executive editor and co-author for the Leimberg Library Tools & Techniques book, Estate Planning for Modern Families (4th Ed. 2024), and she has been a contributing author for chapters in books, including Wealth of Wisdom: Top Practices for Wealthy Families and Their Advisors (2022).

She serves on advisory boards for multiple local philanthropic organizations: the Chicago Community Trust Professional Advisory Council, the Art Institute of Chicago Gift Planning Advisory Committee, the Northwestern Memorial Foundation Professional Council for Philanthropy, the Goodman Theatre Spotlight Advisory Council, the Chicago Foundation for Women Professional Advisory Council, WTTW/WFMT Planned Giving Advisory Committee, PAWS T&E Professional Advisory Board (Chair), and the Executive Committee for the Lurie Children’s Legacy Partners. She also serves on the Chicago Stanford Association’s Board of Leaders. She is a member of The Economic Club of Chicago, where she has served on several committees.

Vanessa advises a diverse range of investment advisers, including wealth managers, institutional asset managers and private fund sponsors on navigating the complex regulatory framework governing the asset management industry. Her practice focuses on compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the rules and regulations thereunder, including:

• SEC Registration and Reporting: Assisting new and established advisers with Form ADV and Form PF preparation and filing, as well as navigating exemptions from registration.
• Compliance Program Development: Designing and implementing comprehensive compliance policies and procedures tailored to each adviser’s unique business model.
• Navigating Regulatory Changes: Monitoring regulatory changes and implementing practical changes to an adviser’s compliance program.
• Regulatory Examinations: Preparing advisers for SEC examinations and representing them during regulatory inquiries.
• Marketing and Advertising: Advising on compliance with the SEC’s Marketing Rule, including the review of marketing materials, websites, and performance advertising.
• Family Offices: Advising family offices on structuring and compliance under the Family Office Rule, including qualification and ongoing compliance considerations.

Vanessa formerly served as a senior counsel with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where she worked in the Division of Investment Management and the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. She has extensive experience with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Investment Company Act of 1940, including related SEC rulemakings, no-action letters, and exemptive relief. She has had responsibility for advising on enforcement cases and examinations, including an onsite investment adviser examination. Vanessa’s experience enables her to provide clients with practical and customized strategies to meet their business and compliance needs.

Patricia devotes her well-honed trial and investigative skills (as well as her intimate working knowledge of government process) to private clients, concentrating her practice in the areas of internal investigations, white collar criminal defense, corporate compliance, and litigation. She has represented individuals and businesses confronted with allegations of criminal conduct regarding government contracts, antitrust, corruption, tax, securities, fraud, insurance, identity theft, bankruptcy, and environmental issues. She has successfully served her clients in grand jury investigations, trials, sentencings, and appeals in federal and state courts.

Businesses regularly call upon Patricia to conduct internal investigations of improper accounting practices, diversion of corporate funds, government contract fraud, conflicts of interest, public corruption, and kickbacks. Thanks to her efforts, these internal actions often lead to internal solutions.

Patricia also frequently advises individuals and businesses on their U.S. tax and foreign asset reporting (FBAR and FATCA) obligations, and represents individuals with undisclosed foreign bank accounts through the New York State and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) voluntary disclosure programs.

Chosen by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to instruct other attorneys in White Collar Criminal Defense, Patricia is AV Rated by Martindale­Hubbell, and has been named a New York Super Lawyer and one of the “Legal Elite” of Litigation by Avenue Magazine.

Patricia began her career as a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice, Honors Program, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of New York. In the U.S. Attorney’s Office, she held the positions of Chief of the Public Integrity Section and Tax Fraud Coordinator. As a federal prosecutor, she investigated and prosecuted hundreds of cases involving government contract fraud, securities fraud, tax fraud, and public corruption, winning both the Outstanding Attorney Award from the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and the IRS Criminal Investigation’s highest honor, The Chief’s Award.

Brittany has experience in a wide variety of criminal and civil litigations and investigations. She represents corporations, city agencies, and individuals accused of alleged wrongdoing such as fraud, tax evasion, political corruption, and false claims act violations.  She has represented individuals and entities across industries, including healthcare, automotive, energy, agriculture, education, and construction.

Brittany has experience in defending clients involved in investigations and enforcement actions conducted by the IRS, SEC, CFTC, FINRA, NTSB, OFAC, State AG offices and other federal and state regulatory agencies.  She has a keen understanding of how to handle complex financial matters whether in connection with criminal litigation, civil litigation, or an investigation.  She routinely engages with forensic accountants to defend her clients against allegations of tax fraud and tax evasion.

Brittany also litigates a range of complex civil disputes throughout the country, with a focus on cases alleging complicated financial issues.

Brittany spends much of her time working with clients to prepare them for various kinds of court proceedings.  She has represented clients in grand jury appearances, proffers, arraignments, pre-trial conferences, as witnesses at trial, sentencings, and other court proceedings.

Tricia Levin is the of Head of Family Office Solutions for the Multi-Family Office of BBH. She works with families providing strategic advice designed to optimize the full suite of services clients need as part of their unique family office solution. She has oversight for the comprehensive delivery of those solutions, including cash flow and entity management, philanthropic giving, administrative services (bill pay, consolidated reporting, and capital call administration), and tax and accounting advisory.

Prior to joining the firm, Tricia was a Managing Director of Client Service at Geller Advisors for over 10 years. She served as a Lead Advisor for some of the most complex families and their private businesses, providing tax advisory and family office services. In addition, she oversaw all the tax compliance needs for the family and their entities, including personal, business, trusts, and not-for-profit. Prior to Geller, Tricia was with Deloitte Tax LLP in their New York Private Equity Practice for 18 years, where she worked her way up from Associate to Partner. She served some of the largest private equity funds and its partners.

Tricia received a B.B.A. from Emory University and an M.S. in taxation from Fordham University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).