Lawyers / Professionals

Ms. McKinnon is considered one of the leading authorities in Virginia on tax-exempt organizations and charitable giving. With 25 years of experience, she represents many public charities, major colleges and universities, supporting organizations, large private foundations, and charitable trusts.

She assists tax-exempt organizations in all aspects of compliance with the federal tax laws, as well as with governance, endowment, and investment matters. Her practice includes advice on compliance with the excess benefit transaction rules and the private foundation rules, including self-dealing issues, participation in joint ventures, and consequences of unrelated trade or business activities. She also assists these organizations in dealing with the IRS in tax controversy matters and compliance audits.

Her work also includes structuring planned gifts to charitable organizations, including the use of charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, charitable gift annuities, and conservation easements. She also works in the areas of estate planning and estate and trust administration, handling the administration of large complex estates, fiduciary income tax matters, fiduciary litigation, and risk management for corporate trust departments.

She is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and currently serves as its Virginia State Chair and is a member of its Charitable Planning & Exempt Organizations Committee. She is also a member of the Fiduciary Income Tax Committee of the Tax Section of the American Bar Association. She is a former chairman of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Virginia State Bar.