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Dennis I. Belcher

Partner

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Practices
Industries
Education
  • University of Richmond, JD, Manuscripts Editor, University of Richmond Law Review, 1976
  • The College of William & Mary, BA, 1973
Admissions
  • Virginia
  • U.S. Tax Court
Affiliations

Member; House of Delegates 1998-1999; Chair, Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section 2002-2003, American Bar Association 

Member; President 2009, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, 1986-present

President, 1993-1996; Counsel, 1996-present; St. Christopher's School Foundation

Member; Board of Governors, 1993-2002; Chairman, Board of Governors, 1999-2002, St. Christopher's School

Counsel, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Inc., 1982-present

Member; Fellow, Virginia Bar Foundation

Board of Trustees, Southern Federal Tax Institute

Board of Trustees, Museum of the Confederacy

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Dennis routinely represents high-net worth individuals, families and family offices on a variety of sensitive and complex estate and business planning matters. He also focuses his practice on estate and trust administration, charitable planning, and sensitive fiduciary litigation and dispute resolution.

Dennis is past president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and was previously chair of the American Bar Association's Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section. He is a member of the Advisory Committee and a frequent speaker at the Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning sponsored by the University of Miami School of Law, ALI-ABA estate planning seminars, and numerous other seminars. He is a trustee of the Southern Federal Tax Institute and a member of the advisory board of BNA Tax Management, Estate, Gifts and Trusts magazine. In addition, he has been listed in Town & Country magazine as one of the top 45 estate planning lawyers in the United States. In 2012 he was ranked #1 Virginia Super Lawyer.

For the past several years, Chambers & Partners has recognized Dennis in its national editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, where he was cited as "phenomenal" and known by his peers as being "technically excellent with good judgment," with another client saying, "he's the sort of guy you want in the trenches with you." McGuireWoods' Private Wealth Services Group is one of only two law firms in the country to receive Chambers' highest national ranking for wealth management.

He has testified before the Senate Finance Committee on estate tax reform and the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures on patenting of tax strategies. On several occasions, Dennis has been called upon to offer analysis for a number of national publications, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Time magazine, USA Today, Worth magazine, Trusts and Estates magazine, the American Bar Association Journal, Fidelity Investor's Weekly, Business Week, The Daily Tax Report, Bloomberg magazine, and National Underwriter.

While attending the University of Richmond School of Law, Dennis was a member of the McNeill Law Society. As an undergraduate, he was president of Omicron Delta Kappa at The College of William & Mary.

vCard
T: +1 804 775 4304F: +1 804 698 2012dbelcher@mcguirewoods.comOne James Center
901 East Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219-4030
T: +1 703 712 5324F: +1 703 712 50501750 Tysons Boulevard
Suite 1800
Tysons Corner, VA 22102-4215

Representation of trustees of a very large, high profile estate administration with high complexity, including sale of NFL football franchise, litigation, and resulting foundation representation.

Representation of high visibility client in a divorce proceeding.

Tax planning for ultra high net worth individuals and corporate executives.

Representation of trustees and beneficiaries in high profile complex litigation.

Representation of clients with family businesses in succession planning.

Named one of 35 "Most Influential Lawyers," National Law Journal, 2011

National Estate Planning Council Hall of Fame, 2011

Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Litigation-Trusts and Estates, Trusts and Estates, Woodward/White, Inc., 1987-2012

Named "Lawyer of the Year," Trusts & Estates, Richmond, Best Lawyers, 2011, 2012

Selected for inclusion in America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Wealth Management: Eastern Region, Nationwide, Chambers USA, 2008-2011, 2013

Named to "Virginia Super Lawyers," Estate Planning and Probate, Tax, Estate and Trust Litigation, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2006-2013

Named to "Legal Elite," Private Wealth Services, Virginia Business, 2001-2006, 2009-2012

Named to "Top 45 Trusts and Estates Lawyers," Town & Country, August 1999

Listed as one of the top 60 trusts and estates lawyers in the United States, Bloomberg Personal Finance, 1999

Co-author, Making Sense of the 2010 Estate Tax Legislation, CCH, June 2011
Co-author, "Estate Tax Deferral, Planning Now and Being Prepared Later," ABA Trusts & Investments Magazine, March – April 2008
Faculty Speaker, "Private Trust Companies," Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, 2009
Faculty Speaker, "Recent Developments," Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008-2012
Faculty Speaker, "Section 6166," Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, 2008
Faculty Speaker, "Responsibilities and Duties of a Delegating or Directed Trustee," Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, 2007
Estate Planning Could Be Affected by Administration’s Budget Proposals, April 12, 2013
Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries, February 28, 2013
Permanent Changes to the Estate Tax and Other Tax Provisions, January 2, 2013
Tax Court Gives Defined Value Clauses a Boost - Or Does It?, October 3, 2012
Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries, September 27, 2012
Illinois Enacts Decanting Statute, September 4, 2012
Illinois Enacts Directed Trusts Statute, August 28, 2012
Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries, July 26, 2012
July 17 is the Deadline for Amending 2010 Carryover Basis Forms (Form 8939), July 3, 2012
Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries, May 30, 2012
Virginia Enacts Directed Trustee Statute, April 26, 2012
Virginia Joins Growing Number of States Enacting Trust Decanting Statutes, April 16, 2012
Virginia Enacts Domestic Asset Protection Trust Legislation, April 9, 2012
Carryover Basis/GST Exemption Form 8939 Due January 17, 2012, January 6, 2012
Estate Planning Considerations for 2012, December 29, 2011
"Portability" Elections Must Be Made as Early as October 3, September 29, 2011
IRS Proposes New "2% Floor" and "Unbundling" Regulations - Improved but Still Challenging, September 8, 2011
IRS Publishes Partial Guidance for Executors of 2010 Decedents, August 8, 2011
New State Law Developments on Domestic Asset Protection Trusts and State Death Taxes, July 14, 2011
Family Offices May Have More Time: Compliance with Dodd-Frank Act Adviser Registration Delayed, April 18, 2011
Trustees Relieved of "Unbundling" Until Final Regulations are Published, April 14, 2011
Virginia General Assembly Confirms that National Banks Can Serve as Virginia Fiduciaries without an In-state Office, March 16, 2011
The Administration's Estate Tax Budget Proposals, February 28, 2011
Unique (and Some Immediate) Challenges and Opportunities for Fiduciaries under New Tax Law, December 27, 2010
2010 Year-End Estate Planning: Taking Advantage of Legislative Chaos, December 6, 2010
Limitations on GRATs May Be Close, December 3, 2010
SEC Proposes New "Family Office" Definition Under Dodd-Frank Act, October 18, 2010
Hawaii Enacts Domestic Asset Protection Trust Legislation and Reinstates Separate State Estate Tax, August 2, 2010
Recent Fiduciary Cases of Interest to Corporate Fiduciaries, July 8, 2010
Recent Fiduciary Cases of Interest to Corporate Fiduciaries, June 1, 2010
Recent Fiduciary Cases of Interest to Corporate Fiduciaries, May 3, 2010
Planning for the New 3.8 Percent Surtax on Trusts and Estates, April 22, 2010
Trustees Relieved of "Unbundling" for 2009 Returns, April 2, 2010
Crawford Supply Group, Inc. v. LaSalle Bank, N.A. 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4691 (N.D. Ill. 2010), March 11, 2010
California Trust Case: Steinhart v. County of Los Angeles, 2010 Cal. LEXIS 869 (Feb. 4, 2010), February 17, 2010
Recent Fiduciary Cases of Interest to Corporate Fiduciaries, February 16, 2010
California Trust Case: Rudnick v. Rudnick, 179 Cal. App. 4th 1328 (December 2, 2009), February 5, 2010
California Guardianship Case: Suleman v. Superior Court of Orange County, 2010 Cal. App. LEXIS 8 (January 8, 2010), February 5, 2010
California Trust Case: Chatard v. Oveross, 179 Cal. App. 4th 1098 (Nov. 30, 2009), February 4, 2010
Recent New York Fiduciary Cases, January 21, 2010
California Trust Case: Presta v. Tepper, 179 Cal. App. 4th 909 (Oct. 28, 2009), January 20, 2010
California Trust Case: King v. Johnston, 178 Cal. App. 4th 1488 (Nov. 9, 2009), January 20, 2010
Illinois Fiduciary Case: Citizens National Bank v. Kids Hope United, January 14, 2010
"Inadvertent" Repeal of the Estate Tax, December 18, 2009
Recent Virginia Fiduciary Case - Harbour v. SunTrust Bank, December 16, 2009
Trust Provision Mandating Drafting Attorney's Consent Prior to Modification Upheld, December 2, 2009
Recent Fiduciary Cases of Interest to Corporate Fiduciaries, October 22, 2009
FLPs & LLCs in Recent Cases, September 29, 2009
New Guidance for Trustees of ILITs, July 28, 2009
Delaware Enacts Estate Tax Effective July 1, 2009, July 6, 2009
FBAR Update: IRS Delays Due Date in Certain Circumstances, June 26, 2009
Reports of Foreign Financial Accounts Due to IRS by June 30, June 19, 2009
Administration Proposals Would Limit Estate Planning Techniques, May 12, 2009
Life Insurance Policies - Income Tax Treatment on Surrender or Sale, May 4, 2009
Clarification of April 22, 2009 Fiduciary Advisory Services Alert, April 29, 2009
Recent Fiduciary Cases: Spring 2009, April 27, 2009
New Withholding Obligations for Illinois Trusts, April 22, 2009
Estate Tax Proposals from the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, March 30, 2009
Transfer Tax Implications of Trust Investment in Limited Partnership, March 23, 2009
Extension of Interim Guidance on Deductibility of Investment Advisory Fees by Trusts, December 11, 2008
IRS Releases Sample Charitable Lead Unitrust Provisions, July 28, 2008
IRS to Disallow Valuation Discounts for Restricted Management Accounts, July 21, 2008
New Hampshire Enacts Domestic Asset Protection Trust and Related Legislation, July 7, 2008
Where the Senate Goes Now That It Has Held Estate Tax Hearings, April 14, 2008
Third Time's a Charm? Senate Finance Committee Holds Hearing on Estate Tax Reform, April 7, 2008
Recent Fiduciary Cases: Spring 2008, March 18, 2008
The Return of Congress and The Challenge of The Estate Tax, January 3, 2008