Lawyers / Professionals
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Dennis I. Belcher
Partner
One James Center
dbelcher@mcguirewoods.com901 East Cary Street Richmond, Virginia 23219-4030 F: 804.698.2012
1750 Tysons Boulevard
Suite 1800 McLean, Virginia 22102-4215 F: 703.712.5050 |
As a partner with the firm, Mr. Belcher routinely represents both high-net worth individuals and families 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.
Mr. Belcher 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.
For the past several years, Chambers & Partners has recognized Mr. Belcher 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 of Belcher saying, "he's' the sort of guy you want in 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, Mr. Belcher 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.
- Board of Partners
- Named One of the "Best Lawyers in America," Woodward/White, Inc., 1987-2011
- Named One of America's "Leading Lawyers," Chambers USA, 2008-2010
- Named a Virginia "Super Lawyer," Law & Politics, 2007-2010
- Named One of Virginia's "Legal Elite," Virginia Business, 2001-2006, 2009-2010
- "Top 45 Trusts and Estates Lawyers," Town & Country, August 1999
- Bloomberg Personal Finance, November 1999, listed Belcher as one of the top 60 trusts and estates lawyers in the United States
- "A Practitioner's Guide for Negotiating, Drafting and Enforcing Premarital Agreements" (co-authored with Laura O. Pomeroy), Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal, Vol. 37, Issue I, Spring 2002
- "Overview of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)" (co-authored with Kyle C. Harrison), September 2001
- "Minimizing the Risks of Estate Litigation: Estate Planning for the High Net Worth Client in Anticipation of Litigation" (co-authored with Laura O. Pomeroy), Tax Management Estates, Gifts and Trusts Journal, January-February 2000
- "Gift on Creation: The IRS Attacks Family Limited Partnerships" (co-authored with David T. Lewis), Property and Probate, September-October 1999
- "Fair Market Value of Voting Interests After Simplot v. Commissioner" (co-authored with David T. Lewis), Probate Practice Reporter, Vol. 11, Number 7, July 1999
- "For Richer for Poorer: Strategies for Premarital Agreements" (co-authored with Laura O. Pomeroy), Probate and Property, November/December, 1998
- "Drafting Agreements to Take Advantage of Valuation Discounts, Estate Planning," Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January, 1996
- "Charitable Split-Interest Trusts, Charitable Giving," New York University Institute on Estate Planning, November, 1995
- "Defective May Be More Effective: Grantor Trusts, The Tax Advantages of Intentional Grantor Trusts," Probate and Property, March/April, 1993
- Recent Developments, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2009, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002
- Section 6166, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2008
- Private Trust Companies, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2009
- Responsibilities and Duties of a Delegating or Directed Trustee, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2007
- Drafting and Planning Pre-Marital Agreements, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2001
- Selecting the Appropriate Split Interest Technique, ACTEC, Scottsdale, Arizona, 2005 and 2000
- Estate Planning Techniques for Wealthy Clients, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Advanced Estate Planning Conference, Denver, Colorado,1999
- An Estate Planner's Guide to the Valuation of Fractional Interests, FLP Interests, and Membership Interests in LLCs, ALI-ABA's Advanced Estate Planning Seminar, Madison, Wisconsin, 1995-2002
- Lecturer, Internal Revenue Service CLE Program for Estate Tax Examiners, 2005, 2003, 1999
- Lecturer, STEP Program, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1998-2005
- Death, Estate Taxes, and Liquidity Needs - Three Strikes for the Family Business? Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 2005
- Paying the Estate Tax from the Private Business Using Section 6166 and Graegin Promissary Notes, Seattle Estate Planning Seminar, November 2005
- Valuation Discounts, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, Miami, Florida, 1996
- Handling the Closely Held Business in Estate Administration: A Lesson in Defensive Driving for the Fiduciary, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, University of Miami, 1988
- American Bar Association, House of Delegates, 1998-1999
- American Bar Association's Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section
- Chair, 2002-2003
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, 1986-Present
- President, 2009
- St. Christopher's School Foundation
- President, 1993-1996
- Counsel, 1996-Present
- St. Christopher's School
- Board of Governors, 1993-2002
- Chairman, Board of Governors, 1999-2002
- Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Inc., Counsel, 1982-Present
- Virginia Public Safety Foundation, Board of Directors, 1997-2007
- Fellow, Virginia Bar Foundation
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EDUCATION University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia, J.D., 1976
The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, B.A., 1973
ADMITTED Virginia 1976 PLACE OF BIRTH Wheeling, West Virginia |

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