George Holzapfel

Practice Areas

- Corporate & Business Law

- Estate Planning, Trusts & Probate

- Tax Law Estate

- Gift Tax Returns

Career

Mr. Holzapfel is a founding member of Lasher Holzapfel Sperry & Ebberson PLLC. He serves as general legal counsel to hundreds of private and and public family companies and also serves as estate planning counsel to the owners of virtually all of these businesses. In addition, Mr. Holzapfel acts as estate planning counsel to senior and other executives of publicly held corporations and their families. Finally, Mr. Holzapfel handles the estate administration for many clients, including assuring that advanced estate plans and trusts are properly implemented.

Professional Memberships

- Washington State Bar Association, Probate and Trust Committee Section

- Washington State Bar Association, Taxation Section

- Faculty Member, University of Washington (Paralegal Extension Program), 1985 - 1990

- Faculty Member, Golden Gate University Graduate School of Tax (Seattle Branch), 1982 - 1992

Publications

- Right-to-Die Options Allowed Under State Law, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

- Personal Liability of Corporate Officers and Directors: A Short Compilation, Business Law Newsletter of Washington State Bar Association,

Vol. 14., No. 2

- Successor Products Liability in Sale of Asset Transactions, Business Law Newsletter Corporate Law Section of Washington State Bar

Association

- Durable Power of Attorney is a Guardianship Alternative, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

- Estate Planning Avoiding Probate - Fact and Fantasy, Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce

- Using an Incentive Trust Constructively, State Street Global Advisors Newsletter, 2012

- Patience of Wealthy Taxed by Changing Rules on Estates, Puget Sound Business Journal: October 2, 2009

- Before Your Parents Say ‘I Do’ Again, Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney Magazine: April 2009

- In Some Trusts, the Heirs Must Work for the Money, The New York Times, Sunday, January 29, 2006

Work Highlights

Estate Planning and Probate – Mr. Holzapfel's experience includes advanced estate planning involving preparation of wills and trusts, charitable contributions and family gifts, private foundations, family limited liability companies, as well as revocable living trusts and guardianships. He has also structured and implemented Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Generation Skipping Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, and other sophisticated trusts involving many millions of dollars of gifts. In addition, Mr. Holzapfel has handled the legal administration of many large and small estates, giving special consideration to post-mortem planning, tax return preparation and filing.

Succession Planning for Businesses – As an attorney for many private businesses, Mr. Holzapfel has developed and implemented many succession plans and other plans of reorganization to facilitate the transfer of ownership and control from one generation to the next. These transactions require careful attention to detail to corporate, estate planning, tax and other areas of law. He strives to structure these transactions to achieve the goals of the parties while at the same time laying the legal foundation for the successful continuation of the business itself.

Formation, Operation and Liquidation of Businesses – Mr. Holzapfel has assisted in the formation and reorganization of hundreds of businesses. He puts significant focus on well-drafted buy/sell provisions in shareholders agreements, partnership agreements and similar documents in an effort to minimize time consuming and expensive disputes among co-ownersof businesses. Mr. Holzapfel also has experience in the negotiation and structuring of limited liability companies, joint ventures and other agreements.

Purchases and Sales of Businesses – Mr. Holzapfel has participated in several hundred purchases and sales of businesses,

representing purchasers as well as sellers. These have taken a wide variety of forms, including sales of assets, sales of stock, “boot strap”

redemptions, leveraged buy-outs, mergers and other reorganizations. Besides the actual legal documents, Mr. Holzapfel emphasizes strategy and negotiation to arrive at the best possible result for his clients. Significant tax planning is a critical part of these transactions, and his goal is to save more in taxes for his clients than the cost of legal fees for the transaction.

Executive Compensation – Mr. Holzapfel's experience in this area includes drafting detailed employment agreements for executives and other employees, sometimes with covenants not to compete, trade secret provisions and “no employee hire” clauses.

Representation of Minority Shareholders/Partners – Using a specialized list of techniques developed from experience combined with academic teaching, Mr. Holzapfel regularly represents minority partners in partnerships and limited liability companies, and minority shareholders in corporations, in an effort to provide the legal framework to give them adequate ownership, voting and compensation protections.

Languages Spoken

English, fluent.

Education

Awards