Concentration

Summary

Mr. Porter has served as lead counsel for taxpayers in numerous cases in the United States Tax Court, the Court of Federal Claims, United States District Courts and Courts of Appeals. He also has represented taxpayers in numerous other federal tax audits and administrative appeals. He frequently advises and represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries of trusts and estates with respect to administration and fiduciary duty issues.

Mr. Porter is a Regent and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Representative Engagements

• Estate of Petter – successful defense of taxpayer in case of first impression involving gift/sale of LLC units to family and charity using a dollar value formula based on values as "finally determined for federal gift tax purposes." (Petter v. Comm'r, No. 25950-06 (Tax Ct. filed Dec. 15, 2006))
• Estate of Black – successful defense of estate against IRS attempt to apply § 2036 to ignore family limited partnership for estate tax purposes. (Estate of Samuel P. Black Jr., et al. v. Comm’r, 133 T.C. No. 15 (Dec. 14, 2009))
• Estate of Charles H. Murphy, Jr. – successful $42 million estate tax refund suit involving numerous valuation issues and IRS attempt to ignore limited partnership under I.R.C. § 2036 (Estate of Murphy v. United States, No. 07-CV-1013, 2009 WL 3366099 (W.D. Ark. Oct. 2, 2009))
• Estate of Helen Christiansen – successful defense of estate in case of first impression regarding tax effect of partial disclaimer of limited partnership interest to charity made by way of a dollar value formula based on values "as finally determined for estate tax purposes." (Estate of Christiansen v. Comm’r, 130 T.C. No. 1 (2008), aff’d, 586 F.3d 1061 (8th Cir. 2009))
• Estate of Frazier Jelke, III – successful Eleventh Circuit appeal and reversal of a Tax Court decision regarding the application of a dollar-for-dollar unrealized capital gains tax when determining the value of stock in a C corporation (Estate of Jelke III v. Comm'r, 507 F.3d 1317 (11th Cir. 2007))
• Litman/Diener – successful representation of clients in a case involving lack of marketability discount to be applied in valuing restricted stock (Litman, et al. v. United States, 78 Fed. Cl. 90 (2007))
• Succession of Charles T. McCord, Jr. – successful defense of the taxpayer in a case of first impression regarding the tax effect of a gift of limited partnership interests made by way of a dollar-based defined value formula (Succession of McCord v. Comm'r. 461 F.3d 614 (5th Cir. 2006))
• Estate of Charles Porter Schutt – successful defense of the estate against IRS attempt to apply I.R.C. §§ 2036 and 2038 and ignore the existence of two Delaware Business Trusts for estate tax purposes (Estate of Schutt v. Comm’r, 89 T.C.M. (CCH) 1353 (2005))
• Estate of Wayne C. Bongard – successful defense of the estate against IRS attempt to apply I.R.C. § 2036 to ignore the existence of a limited liability company for estate tax purposes (Estate of Bongard v. Comm’r, 124 T.C. 95 (2005))
• Estates of Eugene and Allene R. Stone – successful defense of the estate against IRS attempt to apply I.R.C. § 2036 to ignore the existence of five family limited partnerships (Stone v. Comm’r, 86 T.C.M (CCH) 551 (2003))
• Estate of Joseph R. Coulter – successful defense of the estate against an IRS assertion of a $113 million estate tax deficiency in a Tax Court case involving the first-time application of I.R.C. § 2036(b) (T.C. Docket No. 17458-99)
• Estate of Nellie Segerstrom – successful representation of the estate in federal district court in response to an IRS summons of attorney-client privileged documents, and defense of the estate in Tax Court in an $18 million dispute with the IRS regarding the estate tax value of real estate partnerships (Segerstrom v. United States, 87 A.F.T.R.2d 2001-1153 (N.D. Cal. 2001))
• Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Rogers – successful defense of taxpayers in a Tax Court case involving an IRS challenge to the gift tax value of family limited partnership interests (T.C. Docket No. 011557-98)
• Estate of A.D. Davis – successful defense of the estate against the IRS in a case where the Tax Court first recognized the "unrealized capital gains discount" when valuing stock in a C-corporation (Davis v. Comm’r, 110 T.C. 530 (1998))
• Estate of Beatrice Dunn – successful Fifth Circuit appeal and reversal of a Tax Court decision regarding the valuation of a closely held corporation (Dunn v. Comm’r, 301 F.3d 339 (5th Cir. 2002))
• Estate of Jimmie T. Drewry – successful representation against an IRS assertion of a $30 million estate tax deficiency in a Tax Court case involving recognition of private annuities and value of interests in a family limited partnership owning broadcast properties (T.C. Docket No. 10328-00)
• Baine P. and Mildred Kerr – successful defense of taxpayers in a Tax Court and Fifth Circuit appeal of a case of first impression where the IRS attempted to apply I.R.C. § 2704(b) in valuing an interest in a family limited partnership for gift tax purposes (Kerr v. Comm’r, 292 F.3d 490 (5th Cir. 2002))
• Estate of Jameson – successful representation in a Tax Court trial and Fifth Circuit appeal of a case involving an unrealized capital gains discount when valuing stock in a closely held C-corporation (Jameson v. Comm’r, 267 F.3d 366 (5th Cir. 2001)) 

Publications, Speeches and Presentations

• "Defined-Value Transfer Planning After McCord and Christiansen," Probate & Property, September/October 2008 (Stephen T. Dyer, co-author)
• "H.V. Kohler, Jr.: Lessons From the Trenches in a Valuation Dispute," Journal of Practical Estate Planning, October/November 2006
• "Litigation of the Transfer Tax Dispute: Does the Forum Really Matter?" Journal of Practical Estate Planning, June/July 2006
• "The Transfer Tax Audit: The Beginning of the Litigation Discovery Process," Journal of Practical Estate Planning, February/March 2006
• "Strangi and Schutt: The Code Sec. 2036 Battles Continue," Journal of Practical Estate Planning, October/November 2005
• "FLP Wars Update," Trusts & Estates, July 2005
• "W.C. Bongard Est.: The Entire Tax Court Weighs In on the Code Sec. 2036 Battles Regarding Family Limited Partnerships," Journal of Practical Estate Planning, June/July 2005
• "Buy-Sell Agreements: True Provision Does Not Control Value for Estate Tax Purposes," CCH Business Valuation, Vol. 6, Issue No. 3, April 2005

Speeches and Presentations

Frequent speaker at tax and estate planning seminars for numerous organizations, including:

• University of Miami Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
• Southern California Tax and Estate Planning Forum
• New York University Institute on Federal Taxation
• USC Gould School of Law Tax Institute
• UCLA-CEB Estate Planning Institute
• Great Western Tax and Estate Planning Conference
• Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute
• The University of Texas Annual Taxation Conference
• Washington State Bar Association Annual Estate Planning Seminar