HOWARD COUNTY ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

Members are encouraged to invite colleagues to attend and may host a first-time prospective member attendee at no cost.

About the Program:
On July 4, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed the H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), into law. The OBBBA provided clarity for many families with a permanent federal estate tax exemption, indexed annually for inflation, but also opened many other items requiring review and revision of clients’ estate and tax planning. Some of these notable changes include: (1) the Section 1202 exclusion (“Qualified Small Business Stock” provisions); (2) the state and local tax (“SALT”) deduction; (3) the charitable deduction; (4) 529 accounts and Trump accounts; and (5) Qualified Opportunity Zone (“QOZ”) 2.0, and many more. Notably, these changes might warrant clients shifting their focus from “use it or lose it” gifting strategies that were prevalent for the past few years to income tax efficiency and planning, reviewing their estate planning documents (and any formulas thereunder), and state estate tax and asset protection considerations.

In this program, attendees will learn more about some of the important provisions in the OBBBA, their application in conversations with clients and their other advisors, and opportunities to leverage for the continued importance of proactive and holistic estate and tax planning for clients and their families.

About the Speaker: 
Brian M. Balduzzi, Esq., Tax LL.M., MBA, CFP®, CEPA®, AEP®, IPA, is an attorney in the private client group at Faegre Drinker in its Philadelphia, Princeton, and New York offices. Brian specializes in sophisticated estate and wealth transfer planning, helping business owners and their families prepare for transitions, exits and succession. He also advises clients on estate and gift tax exemption strategies, charitable planning, prenuptial and divorce planning, estate and trust administration, and fiduciary litigation. In 2019, Brian was one of four Trusts and Estates attorneys selected as an ABA Real Property Trusts & Estate (ABA RPTE) Fellow, and, in 2021, as an American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Young Leader Fellow. For the ABA RPTE Section, he serves as the Chair of the IRA Plans & Distributions Committee, Chair of the Financial Planning and Risk Management Committee, Vice Chair of the DEI Committee, Member of the Trust and Estate Books Editorial Board and Council Member. Brian is also an active member of the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council on multiple committees and speaker as part of their Roundtable program. Brian is also a tax, business law, estate planning, accounting and finance adjunct professor for multiple undergraduate, graduate, law school and doctoral programs. His scholarship has been featured in multiple regional and national trusts and estates and legal publications, particularly in estate, tax, charitable, and financial planning. Brian holds his JD/Tax LL.M. from Boston University School of Law and his MBA with a Minor in Real Estate from Cornell University.