Frank G. Cooper

Frank G. Cooper

Frank G. Cooper practices in the areas of estate and tax planning and related business matters, charitable and private foundation matters, estate and trust matters and closely held business matters.

A former member of the executive committee of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, he is a past chair of the Section's Tax Committee. Mr. Cooper is also a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and Taxation sections of the American Bar Association, the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Tax Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

He is a 1971 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a graduate of The George Washington University.

Representative Matters

· Counsel to the corporate trustee of a major grantmaking private foundation in connection with a litigated dispute concerning whether the fee clause in the governing instrument prohibited the client from increasing its compensation for services. After hearings and briefs, the court overruled the objections of the co-trustee and the Attorney General and approved an increase in our client's compensation by approximately one hundred percent.

· Counsel to a private shareholder of a closely-held investment company in a transaction which resulted in transferring an excess of $250 million to younger generation family members at a nominal gift tax cost, including the successful representation of the client in the examination of the transaction by the Internal Revenue Service.

· Counsel engaged by a client after the IRS had proposed a $5 million gift tax deficiency as a result of client's gift to a child of an interest in a closely held business. We were successful in concluding the examination of the client's gift tax case where the deficiency was settled for less than $100,000.

· Counsel to a client who engaged our firm subsequent to making a $6 million charitable gift where it was discovered that such gift would not be deductible for federal income tax purposes. We were successful in effectively modifying the transaction so as to preserve the client's charitable objective as well as the intended income tax deduction.

Professional Activities

· American Bar Association
- Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
- Taxation Section

· Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section

· Philadelphia Bar Association
- Tax Section
- Probate and Trust Law Section
-- Former Member, Executive Committee
-- Past Chairman, Tax Committee

Experience

· Duane Morris LLP
- Member, Partners Board
- Chair, Estates and Asset Planning Group, 1994-present
- Partner, 1978-present
- Associate, 1971-1978

Board Memberships

· William B. Dietrich Foundation

Honors and Awards

· Listed in Worth magazine as one of the top 100 lawyers in the country in the field of estate planning and trusts

Selected Publications

· Course materials on Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax for Pennsylvania Bar Institute

Selected Speaking Engagements

· Speaker, "Creative Use of Trusts for Bank and Trust Company Clients," Corporate Fiduciaries Association of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1998

· Lecturer, "The 1995 Amendments to the Inheritance Tax Act," Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Allentown and Pennsylvania, October 1995.

· "A Current Update on Selected Tax Issues," Quarterly luncheon of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, October 3, 1995.

· Interviewed on a weekly cable television show called Money Matters on the topic of "Estate Planning Matters", September 6, 1995.

· Speaker, "The Impact of Proposed Federal Income Tax Legislation on investors and Owners of Businesses," Pitcairn Trust Company, June 12, 1995.

· Lecturer, "Planning for the Family Business," Delaware Trust Capital Management, May 17, 1995; Technical Meeting of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, South Central Chapter, December 8, 1994.

· Lecturer, "The New Amendments to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Act," Pennsylvania Bar Institute Continuing Legal Education Course, Allentown, Pennsylvania, December 7, 1994. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1994, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 2, 1994

· Lecturer, "Current Developments in Probate and Trust Law," the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association- Quarterly Meeting, December 6, 1994.

· Lecturer, "Family Limited Partnerships," International Association of Financial Planners, November 17, 1994.

· Lecturer, "The New Amendments to the Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Act," Pennsylvania Bar Institute, November 2, 1994, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; November 15, 1994, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

· Lecturer, "Update on Selected Tax Issues," Quarterly Meetings of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association since 1992

· Lecturer, "Estate, Tax and Other Planning Considerations for Closely Held Business Owners," Annual Spring Symposium of the International Association for Financial Planning, May 1991

· Lecturer, "Taxes Affecting Decedents' Estates," Pennsylvania Bar Institute

· Lecturer, "Estate and Gift Tax Issues," Pennsylvania Bar Institute