Jonathan M. Forster, listed as one of nation's top tax lawyers, focuses on business planning for privately held companies, business succession, executive compensation, and estate planning. Jon provides innovative, practical tax strategies to assist business owners in building and preserving the value of their companies and personal net worth. He also supports the life insurance industry, having worked in the financial services industry in the early 1980s for EF Hutton where he supported the Washington, DC insurance coordinator. His representation includes numerous government contracting firms, national life insurance distribution firms, and several large family offices.
Jon is the founder of two privately held companies, a continuing education firm, and a distance learning company both of which provided accredited continuing education for life insurance producers. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of several companies and non-profits, and is an active member of the regional life insurance councils. Jon has been interviewed by Business Week magazine and the Wall Street Journal; has spoken at the 2003 Million Dollar Roundtable and 2008 LISA (Life Insurance Settlement Association) compliance conference; and is an avid writer.
Areas of Concentration
· Estate planning
· Corporate tax
· Life insurance and investment structures
· Premium finance
· Life settlement
· Executive compensation
· General business counseling
· Philanthropy
· Estate and trust administration
Professional & Community Involvement
· Serving on Finance Committee for MusiCares/Grammys
· Member, Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU), Business Insurance and Estate Planning Committee
· Board Member, Terrapin Club Board of Directors for the University of Maryland
· Member, University of Maryland Athletics Campaign Cabinet
· Chairman, National Capital Business Ethics Award
· Board Member, Hebrew Home of Greater Washington
· Board Member, Suburban Maryland Life Underwriters Association
· Committee Member, DC Society for Financial Service Professionals
· Board Member, Northern Virginia Life Underwriters Association
· Board Member, District of Columbia Life Underwriters Association
· Member, Maryland Office of Economic Development Business Mentor Committee
· Special Task Force ABA, Committee for Developing Ethics Rules
Awards & Recognition
· Listed, SmartCEO, Legal Elite, 2009
· Listed, Chambers & Partners USA Guide, an annual listing of the leading business lawyers and law firms in the world, 2006-2011 editions
· Featured, Worth Magazine's "The Top 100 Attorneys," December 2006
· Winner, Washington Business Journal's Top Washington Lawyers in the field of tax, trusts & estates, September 2006
· Listed, one of Washington's top lawyers in the field of tax planning, Washingtonian Magazine, October 1994
· Recipient, Montgomery County, Maryland Leadership Award for Establishing Public/Private Business Partnerships
· Rated, AV® Preeminent™ 5.0 out of 5
Clerkship
· Law Clerk, Internal Revenue Service, 1988; Securities and Exchange Commission, 1989
Other Experience
· Provides tax training to members of the International Association of Financial Planners; Maryland and D.C. Institutes for Certified Public Accountant
· Provides in-house tax training at Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, UBS, Wachovia Securities, Legg Mason, New York Life Insurance, and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
Articles, Publications, & Lectures
Articles
· Co-Author, "Current Opportunities in Life Insurance Planning," ForumFacts, September 2011
· Co-Author, " Hot Topics In Insurance Planning: Private Placement Insurance," Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) Fall Quarterly Newsletter, September 2011
· Co-Author, "New Rules in the Works for 'Split-Dollar' Life Insurance," Boston Business Journal
· Author, "Looking Out for No. 1: You, the Company Founder," Potomac Tech Journal
· Author, "Mezzanine Financing is Becoming a Lucrative Market for Venture Capital," Potomac Tech Journal
· Author, Handling Federal Estate and Gift Taxes, Fifth Edition
· Author, Split Dollar for the Corporate Executive
· Author, "Liability Pendulum," Daily Deal
· Interviewed, "Crackdown on a Pension Perk," Business Week
· Speaker, "Business and Estate Planning for the High Tech Executive," an international financial advisor program the Financial Planning Association (formerly the International Association of Financial Planners)
Speeches
· Speaker, International Forum, 2008-2010
· Speaker, Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU), 2008-2010
· Speaker, 2003 Million Dollar Roundtable (MDRT)