UHNW Trusts & Estates Counsel | Private Wealth

Sterlington Legal; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 500,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k)

Job summary

Sterlington PLLC’s Private Wealth group in Philadelphia seeks a Trusts & Estates Counsel to advise UHNW families, founders, and executives on complex estate planning for $75M+ estates. The role demands 8+ years’ experience, with an LL.M. preferred, and a state bar admission. Hybrid work arrangement offered.

The practice focuses on sophisticated planning across tax, trust law, and family governance, coordinating with family offices and fiduciaries to deliver integrated counsel.

Qualifications

• J.D. from a top-tier law school; LL.M. in Taxation or Estate Planning strongly preferred
• Active membership in a U.S. state bar (FL, NY, CA, TX, IL, or DC preferred)
• Minimum eight years of experience in trusts and estates law, with a focus on UHNW clients
• Mastery of federal estate, gift, and GST tax laws; familiarity with state-level nuances and fiduciary income taxation
• Proven track record of handling planning and administration matters for clients with net worths exceeding $75M+
• Experience advising family offices, business owners and multigenerational wealth structures

Responsibilities

• Design and implement advanced estate plans for clients with taxable estates exceeding $75M — including GRATs, SLATs, IDGTs, BDITs/BDOTs, QPRTs, nongrantor trusts, CLTs, CRTs, and private foundations
• Advise on estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax strategy, including multi-generational wealth transfer and dynasty trust structures
• Oversee trust and estate administration — probate, fiduciary compliance, post-mortem tax planning, and decanting
• Counsel on business succession planning: transfer of closely held entities, buy-sell agreements, recapitalizations, and GRAT/installment sale strategies
• Coordinate with family offices, investment advisors, accountants, and fiduciaries to deliver integrated, seamless counsel
• Manage sensitive, multi-party family dynamics with the discretion and emotional intelligence these relationships require

Skills

Estate planning

UHNW client service

Tax strategy

Multi-generational wealth

Education

J.D.

LL.M. in Taxation or Estate Planning

Job description

Sterlington PLLC’s Private Wealth group in Philadelphia seeks a Trusts & Estates Counsel to advise UHNW families, founders, and executives on complex estate planning for $75M+ estates. The role demands 8+ years’ experience, with an LL.M. preferred, and a state bar admission. Hybrid work arrangement offered.

The practice focuses on sophisticated planning across tax, trust law, and family governance, coordinating with family offices and fiduciaries to deliver integrated counsel.