Kent Brostrom

Attorney at Law

I focus my legal practice in the areas of estate planning and business succession.  I'm admitted to the District of Columbia, Virginia and Maryland legal bars and am experienced in all areas of estate planning and administration.  These include insurance trusts, child asset transfers, charitable giving benefits and those special planning considerations associated with elder care and disability management.

I'm a retired U.S. Navy Supply Corps Captain and a former industry general counsel, having graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the American University  Washington College of Law.  I also hold a graduate law degree in estate planning from the University of Miami.

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Mission

 In December of 2010, the President and Congress agreed to an interim two year estate and gift tax law ---  but with the harsh 2001 laws actually slated to return in 2013!  Throughout this stormy time of uncertainty, no one was certain what the estate and gift tax laws would come to be after 2012.  Concern over a sputtering economy, and uncertainty surrounding the ambiguity of future estate and gift tax legislation brought pause to many Americans as they contemplated their estate planning needs and actions.   The 2013 enactment of permanent estate and gift tax laws has calmed the estate planning "seas" and have provided us with a sense of bounds and stability that now permit us to more fully focus on our legacies, not the mere tax consequence of guiding wealth to our successors.  The highlights of the new law include:

         - Estate bequests passing to charity or to a surviving spouse are not taxed, and the amount that can pass to others without tax (the "exclusion") continued to be

                valued   at $5 million, annually adjusted for inflation

         - The 2017 federal gift tax exclusion continues to be $5.49 million for individuals, also adjusted annually for inflation

         - The estate and gift tax exclusions continue to be unified --- a "taxable gift" concurrently applies the same amounts of estate and gift tax exclusions

         - The unified estate and gift tax rate rises to 40% maximum

         - The important concept of portability" remains available, having only been recently been codified in IRC Revenue Procedure 2017-34.  Now, with the inclusion of 

               proper Trust language,  any exclusion amount not used upon the death of the first spouse can be added to the exclusion amount  of the  surviving spouse --- a

               surviving spouse can have a tax exclusion that will shelter estate assets worth  nearly $11 million (2017)

These welcome changes now afford us with the opportunity to shift the planning focus away from estate tax planning and instead to understanding a client's goals and values --- the very core of legacy planning.  Let  us work with you to ensure that your beneficial, charitable and business succession needs are fully realized.

    The Evolving Estate Planning Milieu

            ---   The Legacy Planning "Sea Change"  ---

I've practiced business law and estate planning  for over 20  years and have always found that my clients truly appreciate the time and effort undertaken to assess every aspect of their business succession and personal estate planning needs.  Our firm dedicated to one simple principle --- successful satisfaction of your legal needs. 

I don't take this responsibility lightly and I'll listen to your needs and help you accomplish your estate planning, disability planning and business succession goals.

Our firm also provides probate services and can readily pair our clients with qualified accountants, financial advisers and trust officers to assist with the administration of wills and trusts.