Jonathan Ackerman

For the past 30 years, Jonathan has developed considerable experience in the areas of charitable gift planning, estate planning and administration, tax-exempt organizations, federal and state taxation, IRS practice and procedure, real estate and business formations and transactions.

Tax-Exempt Organizations and Charitable Gift Planning - Jonathan represents donors and tax-exempt organizations in Maryland and the District of Columbia, but he also represents individuals, families, and charitable and other tax-exempt organizations on a national basis for federal tax matters. His advice is often sought by families (and their advisors) who desire to integrate philanthropy into their estate planning, as well as assisting charities with respect to the acceptance of sophisticated assets. Jonathan also represents these clients regarding legislative and regulatory tax matters at all levels of federal and state government, including the Internal Revenue Service.

Jonathan represents existing charitable (and other tax-exempt) organizations regarding their governance, compliance and endowment issues, but he also assists individuals and families in structuring and creating charitable organizations to meet their own personal estate and philanthropic planning goals. He also has extensive experience in creating, reforming and terminating a variety of charitable remainder and lead trusts.

Estate Planning and Administration - Jonathan assists families in structuring their estate plans for federal and state tax and non-tax purposes, including the creation of Wills, trusts, economic powers of attorney and heath care directives. He also assists families in dealing with the estate administration process when a family member has passed, including the filing of all necessary documents with the relevant County Register of Wills Office, the filing of relevant Maryland and federal estate tax returns, when needed, and the final distribution of an Estate’s assets to its beneficiaries.

Business Transactions - He assists clients in financing transactions, as well as the sale and purchase of businesses – both assets and stock transactions. He also assists clients in forming a variety of newly-created business entities, and prepares buy-sell or shareholder’s agreements between corporate shareholders, partners of a partnership, and members of a limited liability company.

Speaker & Author – He is a frequent speaker on the topics of charitable gift planning and tax-exempt organizations and has published articles in The Journal of Gift Planning, the Planned Giving Design Center, Planned Giving Today, Charitable Gift Planning News, the American Bankers Association Journal, the Southeast Regional Wealth Management Magazine, and the Maryland State Bar Journal.

Volunteer Activities – Jonathan was the 2002 President of the National Committee on Planned Giving (NCPG - now known as the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP)) and was a member of the NCPG Board of Directors. He was Chair of the 2000 NCPG Conference Committee and served on NCPG's Government Relations Committee. Jonathan recently finished a second term on the PPP Board of Directors and, at that time, was a Co-Government Relations Advisor to the Board. Locally, he was a President and Director of the Chesapeake Planned Giving Council and served on the Ad Hoc Committee on Ethics and Accountability in the Nonprofit Sector for the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations. He has worked extensively on a pro bono and volunteer basis with various charities.