Deborah A. Cohn

Deborah A. Cohn is a member of the firm's Estate Planning, Estate/Trust Administration, Tax, Employee Benefits, Retirement Plans and Nonprofits practice groups. She concentrates her practice in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration, business planning and taxation. That practice places particular emphasis on the estate, gift and other tax concerns of non-US citizens including foreign nationals employed by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and similar international institutions-–and the particular opportunities available to owners of closely held businesses.

Working with couples with young children, professionals and business owners, and retired individuals gives Ms. Cohn the opportunity to combine her tax planning talents with the maturity and compassion to handle a wide range of family issues. Whether her clients seek sophisticated tax planning, asset protection and wealth preservation, business succession planning or pragmatic solutions to family issues, she applies her creativity and broad experience to address their most important concerns.

Ms. Cohn currently serves on the Section Council of the Estates & Trust Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association and is a past co-chair of the Estate & Trust Law Section of the Montgomery County Bar Association.. She is a member of the International Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP-USA), the Washington, D.C. Estate Planning Council, the Estates & Trusts and Probate Law Section and the Tax Section of the District of Columbia Bar and the Real Property, Probate and Trust and Taxation Sections of the American Bar Association.

A frequent lecturer on a wide variety of estate planning and estate administration issues, Ms. Cohn created and chaired a program on estate and income tax planning for non-U.S. citizens for the Maryland Institute for Continuing Education of Lawyers (MICPEL). She has spoken many times at the World Bank on estate planning for non-U.S. citizens and has also lectured on Basic Estate Planning (D.C. Bar), Using and Drafting Trusts in Estate Planning (MICPEL), Will Drafting (MICPEL), GRATs and Sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (LORMAN), Non-Tax Practical Considerations in Estate Planning, (LORMAN), and Estate and Business Planning with IRAs and Qualified Retirement Plan Accounts (MICPEL).

Ms. Cohn is the co-author of "A Primer on Required Minimum Distributions: How to Take Maximum Advantage of Retirement Plan Assets," Maryland State Bar Journal (March 2003), "Retirement and Deferred Compensation Plans for Tax Exempt Organizations," New York University - Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation (2003), "Small Business and The Cafeteria Plan," New York University - Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation (2002), "Increasing Small Plan Formation: A Blueprint for Congressional Action for the Next Five Years," New York University - Proceedings of the Fifty-Ninth Institute on Federal Taxation (2001) and "401K Safe Harbors Work For Small Business," New York University - Proceedings of the Fifty-Eighth Institute on Federal Taxation (2000).

In addition to her professional activities, Ms. Cohn is actively involved in her community. She is a past treasurer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (2001-2004) and currently serves as a Trustee of the United Jewish Endowment Fund, she has also served as Vice President for Finance and Development of Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County, on the Board of the Jewish Community Relations Council and as a member of the National Women's Philanthropy Board of the United Jewish Communities.

Ms. Cohn received her J.D. with honors from George Washington University in 1978 and her A.B. cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 1974. She is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

Education

J.D., With Honors, George Washington University National Law Center, 1978
A.B., Cum Laude, Bryn Mawr College, 1974

Publications

"Tax Traps and Pitfalls for Estates and Estate Planners"(Co-Author with Steven A. Widdes), MICPEL 2006.

"Taking Maximum Advantage of Retirement Plan Assets," (Co-Author with Paula A. Calimafde), Maryland Bar Journal, Vol. XXXVI, Number 2, March/April 2003.

"Retirement and Deferred Compensation Plans for Tax-Exempt Organizations," New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2003

"A Primer on Required Minimum Distributions: How to Take Maximum Advantage of Retirement Plan Assets," (Co-Author with Paula A. Calimafde), Maryland State Bar Journal Estates and Trust edition, March 2003

"Small Business and The Cafeteria Plan" (Co-Author with Paula A. Calimafde), New York University - Proceedings of the Sixtieth Institute on Federal Taxation, 2002

"Increasing Small Plan Formation: A Blueprint for Congressional Action for the Next Five Years" (Co-Author with Paula A. Calimafde), New York University - Proceedings of the Fifty-Ninth Institute on Federal Taxation, 2001

"Overview of IRA and Retirement Plan Distributions" (Co-Author with Steven A. Widdes and Paula A. Calimafde), Outline for Seminar on Estate Planning in Maryland, December 5, 2000

"401 Safe Harbors Work for Small Businesses" (Co-Author with Paula A. Calimafde), New York University - Proceedings of the Fifty-Eighth Institute on Federal Taxation, 2000

Speeches & Presentations

Will Drafting, Maryland Institute for Continuing Professional Education of Lawyers (MICPEL), 2007

Estate and Income Tax Planning for Non-U.S. Citizens, MICPEL, 2004.

Using and Drafting Trusts in Estate Planning (Presentations on Marital Deduction Trusts and Life Insurance Trusts), MICPEL, 2003.

Eight Greatest Estate Planning Techniques in Maryland, (Presentations on Estate Planning for Non-U.S. Citizens and GRATs and Sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts), LORMAN, 2003.

Non-Tax Practical Considerations in Estate Planning, LORMAN, 2002

Estate and Business Planning with IRAs and Qualified Retirement Plan Accounts, MICPEL, 2002

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