KAUFMAN | GILPIN | MCKENZIE
Kaufman, Gilpin, McKenzie, Thomas, Weiss, PC

Practice Groups

• Estates & Trusts
• Tax
• Business Organization and Transactions

Bar Admissions

• Alabama State Bar
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama
• U.S. Tax Court

Memberships and Affiliations

• Montgomery County Bar Association
• American Bar Association (Member, Sections on Taxation; Real Property, Probate and Trust Law; Corporation, Banking and Business Law)

Education

• B.A., Davidson College, 1976
• J.D., University of Alabama, 1979
• LL.M. in Taxation, University of Miami, 1980

Richardson B. McKenzie III has a sophisticated and wide-ranging estates and trusts practice. He is leader of the Estates and Trusts practice group and counsels individuals and families in all aspects of estate planning, asset protection and business succession, including the design and drafting of legal documents to achieve both tax and non-tax motivated objectives. He also represents closely-held businesses. Among the estate planning instruments he prepares are wills, revocable trusts (living trusts), irrevocable trusts, dynasty or “perpetual” trusts (GST exempt trusts), family limited partnerships, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts. Rick also assists clients with charitable gift agreements, premarital agreements, powers of attorney for property and for healthcare, and living wills. For closely-held business clients he structures corporations, partnership agreements, limited liability company agreements, shareholder agreements, management succession plans and buy-sell agreements. When necessary, Rick represents clients in estate and gift tax disputes with the Internal Revenue Service.

Rick advises fiduciaries (executors and trustees) on all aspects of estate and trust administration, including probate administration, preparation of state and Federal estate tax returns, preparation of accountings, and termination and distribution of estates and trusts. He also represents fiduciaries and individual clients in a variety of trust and estate litigation, including controversies over will and trust construction and alleged breaches of fiduciary responsibilities.

Rick also has significant experience and expertise in the tax aspects of real estate transactions and the tax aspects of executive compensation plans, equity-based compensation arrangements and qualified employee benefit plans.