Windsor law firm
John R. Windsor, Jr. •
Attorney with 18 years of experience, practicing in-house and holding management positions for a life insurance company, banking trust divisions and in the private practice of law. Masters of Law in in Taxation. Expert representation and counsel in areas including the following:
• Estate planning
• Probate
• Trusts and wills
• Retirement plan distribution planning
• Drafting of qualified plan beneficiary designations
• Business succession planning
• Business formation
• Employment agreements
• Taxation
• Fiduciary disclosure
• Charitable trust planning
• Planned giving
• ERISA
• Qualified plan administration, trusteeship and consulting
• Qualified plan design
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Business formation:
• Founded a law firm dedicated to responsive service to clients, quality planning for estates and businesses. Provides asset protection planning, choice of entity advice and other issues in the formation and protection of small businesses.
• Established a retirement plan administration firm dedicated to benefiting employees at all levels and to improving employee retention through design of qualified and non-qualified plans. Helped found financial services company providing workplace benefits and education, along with individual financial planning.
• Formation of numerous small businesses [LLCs and Corporations], including the negotiation of operating agreements, ownership participation/incentives, and sales terms.
Business succession:
• Planning the formation of small businesses, choice of entity, tax elections, operating agreement issues, management agreements, employment agreements, non-competes, and asset protection strategies.
• Developing business succession planning to help small business owners transition management of their company to the next generation, and coordinated employee retention and estate planning programs.
• Evaluation, administration and trusteeship of closely held Employee Stock Ownership Plans.
• Negotiating the sale of a company including asset sales of insolvent companies; severance/consulting packages of management and winding down of company affairs.
Estate planning:
• Providing estate planning to individuals with estates of less than $100,000 to over $15 million, including: Probate Avoidance Planning, Creditor Issues, Irrevocable Education Trusts for Minors, IRA Deferral Planning, Revocable Trusts (including funding issues), Wills with trusts for minors, special needs language, spendthrift language, Lifetime Marital Deduction Trusts, Marital Trusts, Tennessee "Gap" Trusts, and Q-Tip Trusts, IRA Management Trusts, Family Limited Partnerships and associated implementation, and "ILIT" Life Insurance Trusts, as appropriate.
• Conduct estate planning analysis in conjunction with Financial Planners to efficiently plan the management of assets during lifetime and distribution of assets at death.
• Developed a charitable trust document package for use by clients and their planners in seeking legal advice and led seminars on tax-wise giving solutions including charitable trusts and gift annuities.
Probate:
• Provide representation to Administrators and Executors (Personal Representatives) in estates from small estate procedures to taxable estates, requiring the preparation of state inheritance and federal estate tax filings, valuations, and funding of trusts under Wills and contingent sub-trusts under Living Trusts.
Tax Representation:
• Represent individuals and small companies regarding tax issues, primarily for income, gift and estate taxation, but including associated state taxation issues, including situations which involve filing for bankruptcy protection.
Retirement planning:
• Trust and Compliance officer for local bank trust department, responsible for over 80 retirement plans ranging in size from startup plans to more than $100 million dollars. Oversaw administrative tasks, participant distributions, and plan operational and document compliance. Prepared adoption agreements, as well as necessary amendments to plans.
• Trust Department Manager of a local bank trust department, responsible for department management, Trust Officer oversight, and departmental compliance, distributions, participant investment elections and beneficiary designations. Department held all IRA accounts for bank trust department, all qualified retirement plans, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and bank executive non-qualified deferred compensation plans.
• Started an independent retirement plan consulting and administration company. Duties included preparation of plan documents, amendments, plan design decisions, consulting, participant distributions and annual reporting.
PROFESSIONAL HISTORY
Practicing Attorney
First Vice President / Employee Benefits Trust Manager - large local bank
Vice President, Investor Services - local financial planning firm
Vice President / Trust & Compliance Officer - large local bank
Advanced Marketing Director - national insurance company home office
EDUCATION
Master of Laws in Taxation, Boston University School of Law
Juris Doctor, Tulane University School of Law
Bachelor of Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
LICENSURE & MEMBERSHIPS
Mississippi State Bar; Tennessee State Bar; Louisiana State Bar; Admitted to Practice - United States Tax Court. Member of Louisiana State Bar, Tennessee State Bar, Mississippi State Bar, Tennessee Bar Association. Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee - Tennessee Bar Association. Memphis Bar Association. Former Member of Finance, Co-Chair - Non-dues Revenue Committee - Memphis Bar Association. Private Pilot's License
PUBLICATIONS
Estate Planning Strategies, co-author, John R. Windsor, Jr., 2009, (Kansas City: Wealth Builders Press, LLC, 2008).
"Split Dollar Insurance in S and Closely Held Corporations," Trusts & Estates, September 1993
"Pay Them To Stay," (§ 457(f) Plans) Financial Planning, June 1994 - nonqualified deferred compensation in non-profit organizations
