2026 Advanced Tax Institute Day 3 - Estate Planning Issues

Beth Shapiro Kaufman is a Partner in the Washington D.C. office of the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler, practicing in the areas of estate planning, estate, gift and

generation-skipping tax, and income taxation of trusts and estates. At Lowenstein, Ms. Kaufman is the National Chair of the Private Client Services Group, where she assists wealthy

individuals with their estate planning and tax controversies. She also advises lawyers and other professionals on complex issues regarding estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes in both planning and audit contexts. She is frequently retained by counsel to advocate a taxpayer's position before the Internal Revenue Service, and has been particularly active in obtaining

relief for failed generation-skipping transfer tax exemption allocations. From 1995 to 2001, Ms. Kaufman was an Associate Tax Legislative Counsel in the U.S. Treasury Department’s

Office of Tax Policy. In that capacity, she was responsible for estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues, as well as income tax issues relating to trusts and estates. Ms. Kaufman is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where she currently chairs the Estate and Gift Tax Committee and serves on the Board of Regents. Ms. Kaufman received her B.A. from Pomona College and her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.

 Meghan Federman counsels high-net-worth individuals, families, and family offices on sophisticated estate planning and wealth transfer strategies tailored to preserve and grow multigenerational wealth.  She works closely with clients to develop integrated estate and business succession plans, and she guides fiduciaries and beneficiaries through all aspects of trust and estate administration, including probate proceedings, tax filings, and asset distribution.

With a background in corporate law, Meg brings a strategic and business-savvy perspective to her work with corporate executives – including principals of private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds – as well as founders and owners of closely held businesses.  She regularly assists clients with:

•  Designing and implementing complex trust arrangements to optimize wealth transfer and minimize estate taxes
• Creating and restructuring family limited partnerships (FLPs) and limited liability companies (LLCs) to facilitate intra-family asset transfers, protect assets, and maintain control over family businesses
• Developing customized family governance policies and protocols to help multigenerational families manage wealth and business interests harmoniously
• Structuring charitable giving through private foundations, charitable lead and remainder trusts, and donor-advised funds
• Modeling economic outcomes to evaluate available estate planning techniques based on a client’s specific assets and growth potential
• Counseling clients on wealth preservation strategies related to business liquidity events, such as IPOs, mergers, or sales
• Representing fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all phases of trust and estate administration, including probate and tax compliance

Education

• Harvard Law School (J.D. 2018), cum laudeYale University (B.A. 2013)