Terry L. Slye

Terry is a partner in the Private Client and Estate Planning practice groups. He focuses principally in the areas of:

• Estate planning
• Trust law
• Nonprofit organizations law

Terry’s practice is divided between trusts and estates and nonprofit organizations. The former includes estate planning, drafting wills and trusts, estate administration, trust administration, and preparation of related federal income and estate tax returns. He advises clients of relevant income, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax considerations, plus other excise taxes which may apply to a client’s plans for transferring assets to family or other beneficiaries.

He also does substantial work with tax-exempt charitable entities, most of which are organized for educational, religious and health care purposes.

Terry was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel by its Board of Regents. Election involves a rigorous nomination and review process, and requires demonstrated excellence in trust and estate law, and significant contributions to the profession. The 2014 Best Lawyers in America named Terry its Trusts and Estates “Attorney of the Year” for Minneapolis. He has been recognized in Band 1 by the Chambers High Net Worth Guide since 2020 for Private Wealth Law.

• Frequent consultant and speaker concerning the federal Minnesota estate tax including methods of planning to minimize these taxes, post death planning,  and preparation of estate and gift tax returns. He also advises Minnesotans planning to change their domicile to Florida, as well as assisting Florida residents with their estate planning.
• Extensive experience in multi-generational situations where estate and generation-skipping tax considerations must be balanced with specific family situations, including personalities and abilities of various individual beneficiaries and fiduciaries, and the need to balance inter-generational equities and interests. These situations frequently involve trust instruments written years ago, which must be adapted to current laws and judicial practice, investment practices, and fiduciary standards.
• Frequently consulted after deaths with other attorneys or clients who are dealing with old wills and trusts for assistance in securing particular distribution results or more beneficial estate or generation-skipping tax results, particularly through the use of disclaimers, tax elections, or settlement agreements, either judicially approved or private non-judicial.
• Structuring ownership of, and planning for inter-generational transition of, non-publicly traded companies to insure continued family control, sound management and potential estate tax discounts for valuation purposes.
• Significant experience dealing with dispositions of large and valuable collections of personal property: automobiles, boats, jewelry, works of art, antiques, thematic collections (early American, Asian, European, African).
• Significant experience assisting nonprofit organizations with legal requirements for endowment, restricted and special purpose funds, including obtaining necessary approvals for changes in such requirements when they have become no longer feasible.
• Significant experience assisting private foundations with compliance with the private foundation excise taxes for self-dealing, taxable expenditures and expenditure responsibility compliance, and disposition of excess business holdings.
• Often serves as intermediary with demonstrated ability to listen empathetically to  various interests and help participants achieve solutions acceptable and beneficial to all parties.
• In select cases, acts as a trustee for clients’ trusts when requested by clients, to insure their documents are administered in accordance with their intentions and applicable legal and tax considerations.

Publications

Landmark Minnesota Tax Decision May Provide Tax Savings Opportunity for Trusts, Sept. 2018

Estate, Gift and Generation Skipping Transfer Tax, Feb. 2018

Proposed Tax Regulations on Valuing of Family Businesses Face Swirl of Uncertainty, Nov. 2016

The New Minnesota Trust Code, Jan. 2016

Chapter XIV: Minnesota Uniform Principal and Income Tax, 2014