Winstead PC Shareholder
Christine Wakeman has been elected as a Fellow to the
American College of Trusts and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Fellows are elected based on their distinguished reputation, remarkable skill and substantial contributions to the field by lecturing, writing, teaching and participating in bar leadership or legislative activities. These individuals demonstrate a desire to improve and reform probate, trust and tax laws, procedures and professional responsibility.
Wakeman is a member of Winstead’s
Wealth Preservation Practice Group. She is board certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has experience in a wide range of estate and business planning matters involving fiduciaries, trusts, taxation and high net worth individuals and their families. Wakeman regularly designs and prepares core estate planning documents, including wills, revocable trust agreements, and medical and financial powers of attorney. She also designs, implements and monitors transfer tax minimization strategies, including gifts to family trusts, installment sales to grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs).
Wakeman became eligible for this honor just this year and is the youngest fellow in the State of Texas. “I am humbled to be elected as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and I am grateful to the ACTEC Fellows who mentored me,” said Wakeman. “As an ACTEC Fellow, I hope to follow in the footsteps of my mentors and work to elevate the trusts and estates practice of law through scholarship and advocacy.”
The attorneys in Winstead’s Wealth Preservation counsel high net worth individuals, fiduciaries, financial institutions and charities to develop, implement and defend innovative and comprehensive planning strategies to address clients' wealth transfer and asset protection objectives in a tax efficient manner. Several of our attorneys are focused on defense of clients in IRS audits and representation of individual and entity fiduciaries in matters related to estates and trusts. With a particular focus on representing the super affluent, Winstead's Wealth Preservation Practice Group counsels closely held business owners, investors, executives of publicly traded companies and their families in all aspects of wealth preservation, protection and transfer, and related litigation matters.
The ACTEC was established in 1949 and is a national nonprofit association of approximately 2,500 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas. The College’s mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust and tax laws and procedures and professional practice standards. ACTEC frequently offers technical comments with regard to legislation and regulations but does not take positions on matters of policy or political objectives.
Winstead is a national business law firm with nearly 300 attorneys who serve as trusted advisors to emerging, mid-market and large companies, both public and private. The Winstead team provides a range of core legal services that are critical to our clients achieving their business goals. Winstead’s business transactions and litigation practices serve key industries including airlines, financial services, healthcare, higher education, investment management/private funds, life sciences, real estate, and sports business.