Stephanie J Derks
Senior Counsel
Stephanie Derks concentrates her practice on estate planning for high-net-worth families and family offices, estate and business succession planning for closely-held business owners, trust and estate administration, tax compliance, and other wealth planning matters. Stephanie understands the unique dynamics involved when working with families and family-owned companies. She strives to provide creative and comprehensive solutions to achieve clients鈥 estate, business, and tax planning goals. She is a member of the firm鈥檚 Estates and Trusts Practice.
Representative Experience
- Achieved client鈥檚 goal of generational family ownership of closely held business through utilizing creative trust ownership structure.
- Applied advanced estate and tax planning techniques to allow for the gradual transition of a closely-held business to the next generation, while ensuring the current generation鈥檚 financial security and the company鈥檚 long-term sustainability.
- Implemented estate planning methods, such as irrevocable trusts, GRATs, SLATs, and installment sales, to transfer wealth to different family members while minimizing tax implications.
- Played an integral role in creating a family office and continued to work with the family office to implement creative tax-saving solutions.
- Administered large estates with complex assets and tax issues and advised family members through the estate administration process.
- Worked with businesses and other organizations to apply innovative special-purpose trusts.
Awards and Recognition
- Received, Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognition for:
- Corporate Law (2022)
- Trusts and Estates (2021-2024)
Community Involvement
- Board Member, Curative Care Network, Inc.
- Volunteer, Wills for Heroes
- Participant in the 2019 -2020 Young Professional Adviser Council (YPA) with the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
Presentations and Publications
- Co-presenter, 鈥淧rivate Trust Company Workshop,鈥 Family Office Exchange Family Office Forum (January 29, 2026)
- Co-presenter, “Trustees and Beneficiaries Workshop,” Family Office Exchange Family Office Forum (September 30, 2025)
- Presenter, “Charitable Gifts of Special Assets,” Planned Giving Council Series (Fall 2019; Fall 2020; Fall 2021, Spring 2022)
Advanced Estate Planning with S Corporations: Tax Structuring, Trust Design & Succession Strategies for Closely Held Business Owners
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QSBS Stacking: Leveraging Gifts and Trusts for Additional Section 1202 Exclusions
Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code provides one of the most valuable tax benefits available to entrepreneurs and investors who own...
Selecting the Right Trustee and Role of Trust Protectors within the Trust World
GC Bootcamp for Family-held Business: Introduction to Estate Planning, Taxes & Family Offices
Aimed at those who serve as general counsels for family-held businesses, Jason Kohout and Stephanie Derks sit down to discuss the basics of estate planning, from gift tax planning to succession planning and company foundations.
Ten Minute Interview: Income and Estate Tax Planning
Brian Lucareli sits down with Jason Kohout, partner and fellow co-chair, and聽Stephanie Derks, associate and member of our Estate Planning group, for a 10-minute interview to discuss聽income and estate tax planning opportunities for the sale of a business.
FOX Trustees and Beneficiaries Workshop
One of the most important decisions the grantor of a trust will make is picking the person or institution that will be in-charge of managing the trust鈥檚 assets and executing the fiduciary duties it requires.