Suzanne Farley’s practice focuses on family wealth transfers, high-net-worth estate and gift tax planning, counseling Trustees and Executors through complex trust and estate administrations, preparation of estate and gift tax returns, IRS audits of estate and gift tax returns and business succession planning.

Prior to joining Lathrop GPM, Suzanne was a Partner at a San Francisco-area firm.

Areas of Focus

Services

Experience

  • Prepared revocable and irrevocable trust agreements (grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), “Crummey” trusts, and irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs)) for a client with a $400 million+ estate to reduce estate taxes and ensure the family legacy
  • Prepared estate planning documents for a married couple and their three children to ensure cohesiveness of planning
  • Represented a Trustee in the administration of a $300 million+ estate with assets and entities in the U.S. and 9 foreign jurisdictions, which included the preparation of an estate tax return and defense of an IRS audit
  • Represented a surviving spouse in administering her husband’s $42 million estate (with assets in the U.S., France and Luxembourg), which included administering seven grandfathered GST trusts created by the decedent’s great grandparents
  • Represented a surviving spouse in a contentious probate administration of a $66 million estate which involved mediation

Credentials

Education

  • Golden Gate University School of Law (LL.M., Taxation)
  • Santa Clara University School of Law (J.D.)
  • City University of New York (B.F.A.)

Admissions

Bar Admissions

  • California

Professional Activities

  • San Francisco Estate Planning Council
  • San Francisco Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Sections
  • California Lawyers Association, Taxation & Estate Planning Sections