Toni Ann Kruse Elected Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Leading international law firm McDermott Will & Emery is pleased to announce that New York-based partner Toni Ann Kruse has been elected Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). She joins 17 other McDermott lawyers with this recognition, once again demonstrating the Firm’s commitment to outstanding service and business outcomes.

ACTEC is nonprofit organization of more than 2,500 lawyers and law professionals who aim to improve trust and tax laws, procedures and professional responsibility. ACTEC Fellows have demonstrated the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience as trust and estate counselors.

Individual lawyers meeting the criteria for membership are nominated by Fellows of the College, and are subjected to careful review by both state and national membership selection committees prior to consideration by the regents of the College. Fellows are selected on the basis of experience, professional reputation and ability in the fields of trusts and estates and on the basis of having made substantial contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing, teaching and bar activities.

“Congratulations to Toni Ann for this incredible accomplishment,” said Bill Butler, global head of McDermott’s Private Client Practice. “Toni Ann is well-respected amongst her peers as someone who consistently goes above and beyond to support clients on their most complex and intricate matters. Her diligence and ingenuity has earned her this high distinction.”

Toni Ann focuses her practice on broad-based estate and wealth transfer planning. She advises ultra-high net worth individuals and families on estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax issues, trust and estate administration, state fiduciary income tax planning and charitable gifting, as well as contested trust and estate matters. She also regularly works with multinational clients on structuring efficient ways to benefit US persons; family companies, advising on governance and succession issues between generations; drafts and administers complex estate plans; implements leveraged lifetime wealth transfer techniques; and counsels fiduciaries in complex trust and estate administration matters, often involving various asset classes across several jurisdictions.

McDermott’s Private Client Practice represents high-net-worth individuals, families and closely held businesses with an extraordinary focus on the client’s specific, unique objectives. The team, more than 110 strong, is continually recognized as the top private client practice in the US and among the top practices worldwide. In 2019 McDermott’s Private Client practice was awarded the only national Band 1 ranking for Private Wealth Law in the US by Chambers High Net Worth, a guide dedicated to the global private wealth market.

McDermott Will & Emery partners with leaders around the world to fuel missions, knock down barriers and shape markets. With more than 20 locations on three continents, our team works seamlessly across practices, industries and geographies to deliver highly effective—and often unexpected—solutions that propel success. More than 1,100 lawyers strong, we bring our personal passion and legal prowess to bear in every matter for our clients and the people they serve.