Jessica R. Diaz

Jessica focuses her practice on sophisticated estate, tax, and business succession planning. She works closely with clients to address a variety of planning needs and designs creative solutions that integrate each client’s family values and dynamics with sophisticated wealth transfer strategies. Her practice also includes business, marital and charitable planning; estate and trust administration; advising trustees, personal representatives, and beneficiaries; and probate litigation. She has experience with contested estate and trust matters and fiduciary counseling (including will and trust contests, trust reformations, will and trust construction, accounting actions, and claims of breach of fiduciary duty). Her charitable planning work includes advising clients on charitable giving techniques (including the use of IRAs for charitable giving and the establishment and operation of private foundations, donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, and public charities); counseling nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations from conception to dissolution; and assisting nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations with mergers, acquisitions, and affiliations.

• Assists individuals and families with the implementation of wealth transfer strategies that reflect personal and familial goals and minimize transfer taxes (including the utilization of family partnerships, taxable gifts, and irrevocable trusts) and advises families on business succession planning.
• Counsels clients on charitable giving techniques (including the establishment and operation of private foundations, public charities, donor-advised funds, and charitable remainder and charitable lead trusts).
• Represents clients in the preparation and negotiation of premarital and postnuptial agreements.
• Provides counsel to surviving family members and corporate fiduciaries relating to the administration of estates and trusts, the federal estate tax return, and the transition of property to beneficiaries.
• Advises personal representatives, trustees, and beneficiaries with regard to trust disputes, contested estates, trust administration, and property division.  Counsels personal representatives and trustees on their fiduciary duties.
• Represents charitable nonprofits, including both private foundations and public charities.

Speeches

“The New Normal in Entity Planning: A Practical Application of the Most Impactful Legislation and Judicial Rulings in Recent Memory,” 31st Annual RPTE National CLE Conference, May 9, 2019.

“Philanthropic Planning and Advising 101,” Women’s Estate Planning Council, Oct, 11, 2018.

Publications

“Formalizing Decades of Practice: The Uniform Trust Code Comes to Colorado,” Practical Pointers from Practitioners, Probate & Property, Mar./Apr. 2019

“Litigating Disputed Estates, Trusts, Guardianships and Charitable Bequests,”

“Chapter 7: Representing Fiduciaries in Trust and Estate Litigation,” Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, 2016