Senior Trusts & Estates Attorney

Williams Parker • Sarasota, FL

4d

About The Position

Williams Parker, the region's oldest law firm founded in 1925 and home to one of Florida's largest and most respected Trusts & Estates practices, is seeking an accomplished Trusts & Estates Attorney with approximately 8–10 years of private practice experience to join our highly regarded team. This opportunity is ideally suited for an attorney with substantial experience advising high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, and fiduciaries on sophisticated estate planning, taxable estate, transfer tax, and trust administration matters. The successful candidate will help support and expand the Firm's capacity for complex private client services work while assuming significant responsibility for sophisticated planning and administration matters. While a portable book of business is not required, candidates must possess strong technical expertise and the ability to step into near partner-level responsibilities with limited supervision. The ideal candidate will have served as the primary drafting or handling attorney on complex taxable estate matters and possess substantial experience with advanced wealth transfer planning techniques.

Requirements

• Juris Doctor degree from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Member of The Florida Bar in good standing or eligible for admission.
• Willingness to sit for the Florida Bar Exam in the near future if not already licensed in Florida.
• Approximately 8–10 years of private practice experience with a substantial focus on trusts, estates, transfer tax planning, and private client services.
• Significant experience advising high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, and fiduciaries on sophisticated estate planning, wealth transfer, succession planning, and trust and estate administration matters.
• Experience serving as the primary drafting or handling attorney on complex taxable estate matters, including Forms 706 and 709, related audits, and estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer tax, and fiduciary income tax issues.
• Significant experience drafting sophisticated estate planning documents, including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, powers of attorney, health care advance directives, and related planning instruments.
• Demonstrated experience designing and implementing advanced wealth transfer strategies, including irrevocable trusts, SLATs, GRATs, QPRTs, family limited partnerships, private foundations, and related planning structures.
• Experience advising fiduciaries in trust and estate administration matters and working with high-net-worth individuals, families, and closely held business owners on succession and transition planning.
• Exceptional client relationship skills and an unwavering commitment to thoughtful, responsive, and practical counsel.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, family offices, and professional staff.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple sophisticated matters simultaneously.

Nice To Haves

• Florida Bar Board Certification in Wills, Trusts & Estates or a related specialty is preferred.
• LL.M. in Taxation is strongly preferred, although comparable experience may be considered.

Responsibilities

• Advise high-net-worth individuals, multi-generational families, business owners, and fiduciaries on sophisticated estate planning, wealth preservation, and succession strategies.
• Design and implement complex estate plans utilizing wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, charitable planning vehicles, family business succession structures, and advanced wealth transfer techniques.
• Prepare and review sophisticated estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, health care advance directives, and related instruments.
• Counsel clients regarding estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning strategies, including federal estate and gift tax return matters, Forms 706 and 709.
• Advise trustees, personal representatives, beneficiaries, family offices, and other fiduciaries on trust and estate administration matters.
• Structure and implement advanced planning techniques involving SLATs, GRATs, QPRTs, irrevocable trusts, family limited partnerships, private foundations, and other sophisticated wealth transfer strategies.
• Collaborate with clients' accountants, financial advisors, family offices, and other professional advisors to develop integrated planning solutions.
• Collaborate with attorneys across corporate, real estate, labor & employment, and litigation practices to provide comprehensive counsel to clients and their families.
• Build and maintain trusted advisor relationships with clients, their families, and their professional advisors.

Benefits

• A premier Trusts & Estates platform with one of the largest private wealth practices in the region
• Sophisticated estate planning, wealth transfer, trust administration, and transfer tax planning work
• Deep relationships with multi-generational families, business owners, trustees, family offices, accountants, and financial advisors
• The opportunity to work alongside highly experienced private wealth practitioners on some of the region's most sophisticated planning matters
• A collaborative culture that emphasizes technical excellence, knowledge sharing, and exceptional client service
• Strong administrative, marketing, technology, and knowledge-management resources that support efficient practice management, collaboration, and client service
• Market-leading compensation and a competitive total rewards package
• Health, dental, vision, disability, and life insurance
• Employee Savings Plan and 401(k) with employer contributions

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed