Megan E. Wernke is a Member in the Private Client practice group. Ms. Wernke advises wealthy individuals and the fiduciaries of large estates and trusts on a wide range of sophisticated tax and estate planning matters. Her practice includes developing tax-efficient estate plans, addressing clients’ business succession and creditor protection goals, and helping clients come into compliance with U.S. tax requirements, all while ensuring that clients’ non-tax objectives are met.
With her significant experience in tax controversies and litigation, Ms. Wernke advises clients with respect to substantial gift tax, estate tax, generation-skipping tax, and fiduciary income tax issues at all stages of controversy: voluntary disclosures, ruling requests, audits, IRS Appeals, and in court.
Ms. Wernke also assists existing clients with probate and trust administration.
Speaking Engagements
- Speaker, Recent Developments in Federal Estate and Gift Tax Law, Maryland Advance Tax Institute, November 10, 2020
- Panelist, Estate Planning/Recent Tax Developments, Maryland Advanced Tax Institute, November 12, 2019
- Speaker, Wayfair, Kaestner, and Fielding, Oh My!: The Constitutionality of State Fiduciary Income Taxation, ALI-CLE Representing Estate and Trust Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries Conference, July 18, 2019
- Panelist, Confronting the Challenges of Tax Reform, AiP Conference on Philanthropy 2019: Responsive Philanthropy, May 23, 2019
- Speaker, Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Community Lunch Series: Recent Federal and State Tax Developments for Estate Planners, D.C. Bar, November 15, 2018
- Speaker, Recent Federal Tax Developments for Estate Planners, The Maryland Association of CPAs 2018 Advanced Tax Institute Conference, November 13, 2018
- Presenter, Estate Planning Under H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, STEP Mid Atlantic, January 31, 2018
- Panelist, Estate Planning Issues, 2017 Advanced Tax Institute (ATI), November 14, 2017
- Speaker, Basics of Fiduciary Income Taxation, Estate Planning Council of Montgomery County, November 1, 2017
- Panelist, Recent Developments In Federal Case Law, Legislation, and Regulations, Maryland State Bar Association, November 3, 2015
- Speaker, A Brave New World: The Changing Landscape of Estate Planning, American Bar Association, The Day After Tax Day, April 16, 2015
Click here for a full list of speaking engagements.
Recent Publications
- "GST Exemption Allocation for 2019, Better Late than Timely,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Steve Leimberg's Estate Planning Email Newsletter, May 20, 2020
- "Timely Estate Planning Techniques, Including "May Day" GRATs,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and Sarah J. Racicot, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2020
- ""May Day" GRATs: An Excellent Estate Planning Opportunity,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and Sarah J. Racicot, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2020
- "UPDATE: Gift Tax Return Due Date Now July 15, 2020,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Sarah J. Racicot, and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 27, 2020
- "Estate and Gift Tax Return Due Dates Not Postponed,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Sarah J. Racicot, and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 27, 2020
- "Congress Takes the Stretch Out of IRAs (and Other Retirement Assets),"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and Sarah J. Racicot, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 6, 2020
- "Supreme Court Rules Against North Carolina in Kaestner On State Income Taxation of Trusts: What Does This Mean for the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland?,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, June 26, 2019
- "UPDATED: Year-End Charitable Giving Ideas: IRA Rollovers and "Bunching" Charitable Deductions,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, November 28, 2018
- "2018 Ushers In New Estate Planning Opportunities and Pitfalls,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 18, 2018
- "Possible Repeal of the Estate Tax in 2017,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, December 5, 2016
- "Allocating Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Exemption,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, December 30, 2015
- "2016 Federal and State Estate Gift Tax Exemptions for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, December 28, 2015
- "Maryland Estate Tax Exemption Set to Rise,"
with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, William D. Fournier, and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, May 16, 2014
Click here for a full list of publications.