November 3, 2011

Norris McLaughlin, P.A.
721 Route 202-206, Suite 200
P.O. Box 5933
Bridgewater, NJ 08807-5933
Contact: Edward C. Miller, Jr.
Chief Marketing Officer
(908) 722-0700 x4224
ecmillerjr@nmmlaw.com

Harris and the LVHN Planned Giving Advisory Council Present Fundamentals of Estate Planning

Allentown, PA (November 8, 2011) – Judith A. Harris, a Member of Tallman Hudders & Sorrentino, the Pennsylvania office of Norris McLaughlin, P.A., partnered with other members of the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) Planned Giving Advisory Council to present “Fundamentals of Estate Planning: Preserving Your Wealth and Maximizing Tax Savings in Uncertain Times” at LVHN’s Mack Boulevard building on November 1, 2011. Invitees included physicians, management, staff, and friends of the hospital. Fellow presenters and members of the Council included Jane Kapinas, Vice President and Trust Officer with Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Geoff Legg, CLU, ChFC; and Dennis C. Morton, Jr., CFP, Financial Consultant with Concannon Wealth Management. The presentation focused on current changes to tax laws, tax planning strategies, and the elements of an effective estate plan.

“Our message to seminar participants was simple: Be aware of the current federal and state laws. Keep your estate planning documents up-to-date so when the unexpected happens, you are prepared. Be certain to communicate how you want your assets to be handled and whether you have charitable intentions. Work with qualified professionals—your attorney, accountant, financial planner, and trust officer—to manage your plans. It was an honor to work with my fellow speakers on this event and I hope to work with them on similar topics in the future,” said Harris.

Harris, Chair of the Estate, Trust and Tax Practice Group of the Pennsylvania office, has over twenty-five years of experience in the areas of taxation, wills and trusts, and estate administration.

In addition to creating estate plans from the most basic to the most sophisticated wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills, Harris’s specialties include business matters involving corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies. Harris’s practice also includes charitable trusts and foundations; and representation of estates, trusts, and beneficiaries in disputes before the Orphans’ Court. She routinely handles the resolution of tax controversies for business and individual taxpayers before all divisions (civil and criminal) of the Internal Revenue Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. These cases often involve the resolution of estate, business, and individual audits; or collection efforts such as liens, levies, and garnishments by the IRS and state taxing authorities.

In her work as an estate planning attorney, Harris frequently structures the optimal transfer of a client’s wealth and business interests to younger generations with minimal tax consequences.

Harris serves as a board member and an Executive Committee member of the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). She is past President of the Estate Planning Council of the Lehigh Valley. From 1993 to 2000 she was an adjunct instructor of “Wills, Trusts, and Estates” at Penn State University’s Lehigh Valley Campus.

A board member since 1993 and a former officer of the Allentown Symphony, she is also a board member of the Lehigh County Agricultural Society and a board member and past President of the Fund to Benefit Children & Youth, Inc. Harris served for 10 years on the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority board of governors, where she chaired the Personnel and Law committee.

Harris earned her LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law in 1991, her J.D. from American University in 1986, and her A.B., cum laude, from Bryn Mawr College in 1983.

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