Joseph C. Kempe, Esq., is the sole shareholder of the Firm. Though a general practice Firm, Mr. Kempe's practice is centered on complex estate and business planning. He is double board certified in wills, trusts, and estates and tax law under Florida's Certification program of specialists. He has held those designations since 1989. He is also rated a preeminent attorney under Martindale Hubbell's directory of tax law and estate planning attorneys and is rated within Super Lawyers. The Firm's representative clients include retired Fortune 500 executives, political leaders and their families, entertainers and athletes, international businessmen and women, numerous charities and private foundations, and various multistate businesses.
Bar/Professional Activity: ABA Probate and Trust Section Vice Chair, Family Businesses , 1995-2000; Florida Tax Law Certification Committee, Member, 1993-1999; Chair, Florida Bar Tax Section, Estate and Gift Tax Committee, 1993-1997; Faculty Member, Practicing Law Institute, 1993-1997.
Author of the following Internal Revenue Service private letter rulings of first impression on reverse Qualified Personal Residence Trusts ("Reverse QPRTs"): PLR 200935004, PLR 200935005, PLR 200904023, PLR 200904022, PLR 200920033, PLR 200901019, PLR 200848007, PLR 200814011, PLR 200816025, and PLR 200848008; Author, the following Internal Revenue Service private letter ruling of first impression involving a multi-trust merger and consolidation that enhances its' generation skipping tax exempt status with trust corpus subject to differing perpetuities periods: PLR 200804014; Author, Chapter 27: Entity Freezes and Family Limited Partnerships, Estate and Financial Planning; Clark Boardman Callaghan (Koran, ed.), 1997; Lecturer, Solving Pre and Post Mortem Problems with Family Partnerships, Florida Bar Continuing Education, 1996; Lecturer, Devaluing the Estate Through Lifetime Transfers, 27th Annual Estate Planning Institute, Practicing Law Institute, 1996; Lecturer, Post Mortem Tax Planning, 25th And 26th Annual Estate Planning Institute; Practicing Law Institute, 1995; Lecturer, Using Family Partnerships to Achieve Estate Planning Objectives, Florida Bar/Trust Officer Liason Conference, 1995; Author, Thawing the Estate Freeze: Code 2036(c) through Chapter 14, ABA Probate and Trust Law, 1994; Author, Designating Trusts as Beneficiaries of Retirement Plans, The Florida Bar Journal, 1993; Lecturer, Estate Planning Using Family Limited Partnerships, Florida Bar, Tax Section, 1993; Recent Estate Tax and Trust Law Developments, Florida Bankers Association, 1990; Lecturer, Using Business Plans to Raise Money- Securities Laws Pitfalls for the Unwary, National Association Of Accountants, 1989; Using the Florida Limited Liability Company to Avoid the Liquidation Reincorporation Doctrine, Palm Beach County Bar Journal, 1985; Lecturer, Corporate Manuevers: Reorganizations, Tax and Securities Laws Issues of Corporate Reorganizations, Palm Beach County Bar Association, 1985.