Cara Koss focuses her practice on advising high net worth individuals, both domestically and internationally, on a wide range of sophisticated matters including estate planning, trust and estate administration, lifetime gifting, family office formation and counseling, asset protection, business succession planning, and tax compliance. Ms. Koss specializes in structuring tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies for clients designed to preserve family legacies through the generations, protect assets from potential creditors, and incorporate clients' philanthropic and other non-tax objectives. Ms. Koss also has expertise in the settlement of complex estate matters, including disputes between family members and audits with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Ms. Koss is nationally recognized for her cutting-edge expertise on the use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and estate planning. She is a frequent lecturer on these and other topics, having presented to local and national professional organizations including the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and the American Bar Association. Ms. Koss has also been recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and as a Top Attorney in Chambers and Washingtonian magazine.

Perspectives

The U.S. Supreme Court Limits Penalties for Taxpayers With Foreign Accounts Who Non-Willfully Fail to File Required Reports
Advisory
Connecticut Parentage Act: A Practical Review for Estate Planners
Connecticut Bar Association, Estates and Probate Section
The Parent Trap: How the Uniform Parentage Act Demands Attention to Familial Relationships in Modern-Day Estate Planning
ABA Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law, 34th Annual RPTE National CLE Conference
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) and Designing ART-ful Estate Plans
Speaker, ALI CLE Webcast
Beyond the Birds and Bees: Estate Planning for Reproductive Material
Atlanta Bar Association, Estate Planning & Probate Section
More

Recognition

The Legal 500 US
US Taxes: Not-for-Profit (Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations) (2021-2022)
US Taxes: Non-Contentious (2022)
Chambers High Net Worth
Private Wealth Law (Washington, DC) (2019–2022)
Washingtonian Magazine
"Top Lawyers"—Trusts and Estates (2018, 2020–2022)
"Top Financial Advisor" (2019)
More

Credentials

Education
  • LL.M., Taxation, New York University, 2011
  • J.D., Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, 2008
  • M.S., Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, 2006
  • M.A., Biomedical Ethics, University of Virginia, 2005
  • B.S., Bioethics, Washington & Lee University, 2003, magna cum laude
Admissions
  • District of Columbia
  • Maryland
  • New York
  • Texas
  • Virginia
Activities
  • Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
  • Co-Chair, Non-Tax Committee, American Bar Association (2018-present)
  • Co-Chair, Bioethics Committee, American Bar Association (2010-2017)
Overview

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