Overview
Bill focuses on sophisticated wealth transfer issues for individuals, families and family offices.
His specific areas of expertise include:
- Estate and tax planning for individuals, including the preparation of wills, trusts and related documents
- Charitable gift planning and administration
- Estate and trust administration
- Estate and trust controversies
- Tax controversies
Services
Credentials
Education
- Indiana University Maurer School of Law, J.D., 1976, magna cum laude
- Purdue University, B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1973, with honors and election to Tau Beta Pi
Admissions
- Minnesota, 1976
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, 1978
- U.S. Tax Court, 1980
Recognition
- Top Lawyer – Litigation: Trust & Estates, Minnesota Monthly, 2024
- Best Lawyers in America, Trusts and Estates, 1991-2025; Non-Profit / Charities Law, 2007-2025; Litigation - Trusts and Estates, 2011-2025
- Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law, Minnesota, 2017-2024
- Minnesota Super Lawyers, Estate Planning & Probate, 2003-2024
- AV Preeminent® Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbell, 2023
- Lawyer of the Year in Minneapolis for Non-Profit / Charities Law, Best Lawyers, 2014
- Lawyer of the Year in Minneapolis for Litigation - Trusts and Estates, Best Lawyers, 2012
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
Civic & Professional
Professional Activities
- Probate and Trust Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Past Chairperson
- Minneapolis Estate Planning Council, Past President
- The Minneapolis Foundation, Past Chairperson and Trustee
- Indiana University School of Law, Past Member of the Board of Visitors
- Minnesota Zoo Foundation, Past Chairperson
- Northern Star Council of Boy Scouts of America, Member of the Board of Directors; Past President
News & Insights
News
- Firm News
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Publications & Presentations
Presenter, Avoiding the Unthinkable: Employee Embezzlement and Malfeasance, Fredrikson & Byron Event, May 3, 2017
Doing Good and Saving Taxes (Is the Conventional Wisdom Always Correct or is There Still Room for Common Sense?), Washington State Bar Association (CLE)
Planning for the Larger Estate (Going Beyond the Credit Trust), Minnesota Association of Life Underwriters Seminar
Drafting the Documents: What to Include and Why, Minnesota State Bar Association (CLE)
What Every Development Officer Should Know: (But on Occasion Was Afraid to Ask) About Charitable Lead Trusts, Minnesota Planned Giving Council
Post-Mortem Estate Planning, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants 42nd Annual Tax Conference
Planning Options for the Larger Estate, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education 22nd Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference
The Benefits of Preserving Private Lands, The Minnesota Land Trust Land Preservation Forum—Preserving Our Private and Family Lands
Estate Planning Concerns for Retirement Distributions, Red River Valley Estate Planning Council
Planning for Disclaimers, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants Annual Estate and Financial Planning Conference
Planning the Large Estate, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education 21st Annual Probate & Trust Law Section Conference
Community Foundations Versus Private Foundations: Estate and Charitable Planning After 170(e)(5), The Minneapolis Foundation
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Uses and Abuses of Charitable Remainder Trusts, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, 12th Annual Estate and Personal Financial Planning Conference
Transferring the Closely Held Business, Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education
Taking a Fresh Look at Retirement Assets: Creative Uses in Estate Planning, The Minneapolis Foundation
Planning and Drafting Concerns for Residence GRITS and GRATS, Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law of the American Bar Association
The House That Roared: The Use of Personal Residence Trusts Under Section 2702, ICLE and Probate and Estate Planning Section of the State Bar of Michigan, Advanced Estate Planning Institute
A Potpourri of Charitable Planning Ideas, American Cancer Society/Minnesota Institute of Legal Education, Charitable Giving Seminar
Current Planning with Buy-Sell Agreements, Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants, The 10th Annual Estate and Personal Financial Planning Conference
Taming GRITS, GRATS, QPRTS and Other Creatures Oozing from the Section 2702 Swamp, Annual UCLA/CEB Estate Planning Institute
Estate Planning Considerations for Transfers of Non-Business Interests: GRITS and Joint Purchases, 36th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Washington State Bar Association
Closely Held Business Issues in Planning and Administration, 17th Annual Conference of Probate and Trust Law Section of the Minnesota State Bar Association, Minnesota Continuing Legal Education
S-Corporation Planning, 23rd Annual Advanced Life Underwriting Institute, Minnesota Association of Life Underwriters