Attorney Thomas C. Hoffman, II is a shareholder at Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett who concentrates on closely held business planning, business succession planning, implementation of sophisticated estate and trust planning, administration of complex estates and trusts, and the tax consequences of these matters.  He presented the Knox Tax Institute^SM: Estate and Income Tax Issues in Business Succession Planning on November 24 at The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford; December 3‑4 at the Tax Practitioners Institute at the BP Energy Center in Anchorage, Alaska; and at several accounting, financial and insurance firms in the Erie area.

The seminar focused on reduction or avoidance of federal estate and income taxes in business succession plans and protection of businesses from successors’ creditors.  The presentation included a brief introduction for planning opportunities utilizing sales of closely held businesses to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs) and Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) as well as several case studies focusing on detailed planning options.  Continuing education credits for Certified Public Accountants, Certified Financial Planners, Insurance Agents and Attorneys were earned by participants.