Lawyers / Professionals

Mr. Aucutt is the leader of McGuireWoods' private wealth services group. He was recognized as one of the top 30 "Stars of the Bar" in the December 2009 edition of the Washingtonian; he received the highest possible 2009 Chambers USA ranking "Band 1 for Wealth Management Nationwide"; and he was elected to the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils Estate Planning Hall of Fame, and given the designation of Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner in 2009.

He was one of four lawyers who were named top Washington lawyers in the field of trusts and estates in the September 10-16, 2004, issue of the Washington Business Journal; and he was one of 12 lawyers named leading estate planning lawyers in the September 27, 2004, issue of Legal Times. He was named on a prestigious list in the December 2002 issue of The Washingtonian as an estate planner; one of the 45 "Best Trusts and Estates Lawyers in the U.S." in the August 1998 issue of Town & Country magazine; and one of "Washington's 50 Best Lawyers" in the February 1997 issue of Washingtonian magazine.

He was awarded the 1995-1996 Estate Planner of the Year Award by the Washington, D.C. Estate Planning Council. His biography appears in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in Finance and Industry, and Who's Who in the World. He is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

He concentrates on planning and controversy matters involving estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes; income taxation of trusts and estates; rules regarding tax-exempt organizations and charitable contributions; and related tax issues. He has extensive experience advising clients on the transfer of wealth from one generation to another, including the orderly and tax-efficient succession of family owned businesses. He has contributed to the formation of estate tax policy through legislation, and has served as an expert witness in estate and gift tax matters.

He advises lawyers and other professionals on tax planning and controversy issues across the spectrum of estate planning and charitable giving, including the complex rules governing generation-skipping transfers under Chapter 13 and the special valuation rules under Chapter 14 of the Internal Revenue Code. He is experienced in resolving tax issues through rulings and technical advice in the IRS's national office, and in administrative appeals throughout the country.

Mr. Aucutt is a past president of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; a past vice chair for committee operations of the American Bar Association's Section of Taxation; and the liaison from the Section of Taxation to the Probate and Trust Division of the Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and the American Bar Foundation.

He is a member of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law; the Advisory Committee of the University of Miami Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning; the Editorial Board of Estate Planning; the Board of Advisors of Business Entities; and the Advisory Board of Tax Management's Estates, Gifts, and Trusts Journal.

He has been a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law; has lectured on estate planning at more than 100 tax institutes and conferences nationwide; and is the author of more than 100 published articles on estate planning and related tax subjects. He is co-author of Structuring Estate Freezes, published by Warren Gorham & Lamont in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996.