Sharon Klein

Career

Sharon L. Klein is Executive Vice President and President of Family Wealth, Eastern Region, for Wilmington Trust, N.A. She is responsible for overseeing the delivery of all Wealth Advisory Services by teams of professionals, including planning, trust, investment management, family governance and education, family office, and private banking services, to high-net-worth clients.

Sharon also heads Wilmington Trust’s National Divorce Advisory Practice.

Sharon has over 25 years of experience in the wealth advisory arena and is a nationally recognized speaker and author. She holds U.S, British and Australian citizenships.

For Sharon’s full biography:

https://www.wilmingtontrust.com/library/author/sharon-klein

Professional Memberships

Sharon is a member and has held leadership positions in many prestigious professional organizations:

1. Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a highly selective professional organization of preeminent estate planning attorneys in the U.S. and internationally, chosen based on outstanding reputation and exceptional skill;

2. Incoming Chair of ACTEC's Asset Protection Committee;

3. Rockefeller University Committee on Trust and Estate Gift Plans;

4. New York Bankers Association Trust & Investment Division Executive Committee;

5. The Bureau of National Affairs Estates, Gifts and Trusts Advisory Board;

6. Thomas Reuters Trusts & Estates Advisory Board;

7. Trusts & Estates Magazine, Board Member and Chair, Domestic Relations Committee;

8. Family Lawyer Magazine, Advisory Board Member

9. New York City Bar Association's Trusts, Estates and Surrogate's Court Committee, Past Chair;

10. New York State Bar Association's Trusts and Estates Law Section Taxation Committee, Past Chair;

11. American Brain Foundation, past Board member and member of Finance Committee.

Publications

Sharon is a nationally recognized speaker and author and has presented for the most widely respected professional trusts & estates and matrimonial law organizations in the country, including:

• American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC);

• American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), the preeminent organization of matrimonial attorneys in the US who undergo a rigorous vetting process and are recognized by the bench and bar as the leaders in the field;

• Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, a leading national conference that attracts over 4,000 attendees annually;

• New York University’s Institute on Taxation;

• Duke University’s Estate Planning Conference;

• University of Notre Dame’s Tax & Estate Planning Institute;

• American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys;

• American Bar Association, Family Law and Trusts & Estates Sections; and

• Bloomberg BNA’s Tax Management Board

Sample publications include:

- Trusts & Estates Magazine: The State of the States (Comprehensive Annual Analysis of Important State Developments across the U.S.)

- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Law Journal: The Post-Mortem Right of Publicity: Defining it, Valuing it, Defending it and Planning for it;

- BNA Tax Management Portfolio on Divorce

- Estate Planning Magazine: The Issue with Issue: Rights of Posthumously Conceived Children

- BNA Tax Management Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal: Paying for the (Grand) Child’s Education: Making Educated Choices

- Family Lawyer Magazine: What Family Law Practitioners Must Know About Life Insurance

Speaking engagements include:

- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: Why Estate Attorneys Use Common Trust Planning Techniques & How to Attack or Defend Them in Divorce

- Practising Law Institute’s (PLI) Annual Estate Planning Institute: Perils for Individual Trustees: What Every Trustee and Professional Advisor Should Know About Reducing Litigation Exposure

- New York University Advanced Trusts & Estates Conference: The Intersection of Divorce and Trusts & Estates: Top Tax/Planning Tips and Traps

- American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers: Litigation Strategies When a Trust is Central to the Divorce: ACTEC Lawyers and Trustees Assisting/Battling AAML Litigators

- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel: Practical and Ethical Considerations in Representing the (Un)happily Married

- Duke University Estate Planning Conference: The Post-Mortem Right of Publicity: Defining it, Valuing it, Defending it and Planning for it

- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel: The Issue with Issue: Rights of Posthumously Conceived Children

- American Bar Association: Understanding the Latest Assets & their Investment and Fiduciary Implications: Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and More

- 18th Sophisticated New York State Bar Association’s Trust & Estates Institute: Estate Planning Update – The State of the States

- Washington D.C. Estate Planning Council: Bitcoin: The Crypto Craze and its Investment and Fiduciary Implications

- New York State Bar Association: Trust Assets in Divorce: Fair Game or Off Limits?

- New York City Bar Association: Estate and Gift Planning Considerations in Residential Real Estate Purchases

- The 2021 New York City Bar Mortimer H. Hess Memorial Lecture: It’s a Thriller! Lessons Learned from the Estate of Michael Jackson and the potential impact of New York’s new Post-Mortem Right of Publicity

- American Bar Association Family Law Section: Trust Assets in Divorce Proceedings: Within Reach or a Bridge too Far?

- New York City Estate Planning Council’s Annual Estate Planners’ Day: Oops - Planning Was Not Perfect: Fixing and Preventing Unintended Consequences

- Notre Dame University Tax & Estate Planning Institute: Ethical Issues and Conflicts Associated with Trust-Owned Life Insurance: Managing Policies and Fulfilling Fiduciary Obligations