Jay D. Adkinson | Adkisson Pitet LLP

Few professionals are as uniquely qualified as Jay D. Adkisson to lead a discussion on creditor structuring and asset protection through LLCs. His hands-on litigation experience, combined with his role in shaping national legislation and publishing authoritative works on charging orders and debtor-creditor law, make him the definitive voice on this complex topic. Adkisson’s rare blend of courtroom insight and statutory expertise enables him to address both theoretical structures and real-world risks in protecting LLC interests from creditor attacks.

Jay D. Adkisson is the Managing Partner of the Las Vegas office of Adkisson Pitet LLP and practices out of Newport Beach, California. He has twice testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on abusive tax practices and is a contributing columnist at Forbes. He has authored several seminal works including The Charging Order Practice Guide (ABA) and Asset Protection: Concepts and Strategies (McGraw-Hill). His career includes service as a court-appointed receiver, an expert on fraudulent transfers, and adviser to the Uniform Law Commission on multiple legislative projects. Adkisson is also an Honorary Member of the California Association of Judgment Professionals, reflecting his national recognition as a leader in this highly specialized legal arena.

Robert S. Barnett | Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld LLP

Robert S. Barnett is an ideal speaker for foundational and practice-oriented discussions on LLCs in estate and tax planning. His expertise spans decades of advising on entity selection, intergenerational wealth transfers, and coordination between tax and legal advisors. With dual training in law and accounting, and active teaching roles, Barnett offers attendees both the technical depth and strategic insight necessary to master LLC structures and avoid common planning pitfalls.

Mr. Barnett earned his J.D. cum laude from Fordham University, where he served on the Fordham Law Review, and holds a B.S. in accounting from Hofstra University, magna cum laude. He also received an LL.M. in Taxation and the highest dean’s award in his class. He is a CPA and an adjunct professor in Hofstra’s graduate tax program. In addition to publishing extensive tax, estate, and business planning, he serves numerous professional and charitable boards. Mr. Barnett is admitted in New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and is known for delivering innovative, client-centered planning strategies that align with current IRS regulations and estate planning goals.

Jeff Cunningham | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Jeff Cunningham’s transactional depth and drafting acumen make him the perfect guide for a session focused on the nuances of LLC operating agreements. From ownership structuring to buy-sell planning and control provisions, Cunningham has helped shape agreements that balance tax efficiency, legal protection, and real-world functionality—skills essential for practitioners seeking to master §704(b) compliance and business continuity.

Cunningham serves as outside general counsel to closely held and high-growth companies, guiding them from formation through complex transactions and eventual exit. His client base spans diverse industries—manufacturing, services, tech, construction—and includes startups and multigenerational family businesses. He advises on business training, capital raising, equity design, commercial contracts, licensing, M&A, and succession planning. Jeff frequently presents structuring strategies for business lawyers and CPAs and is particularly known for translating complex legal issues into practical, business-ready solutions.

Rustin Diehl | Allegis Law

Rustin Diehl’s work sits at the intersection of innovation and tax-savvy estate planning, making him a standout speaker for topics like freezing structures and digital asset protection through LLCs. With a reputation for translating complex IRS rules into practical planning tools, and expertise in emerging fields like blockchain, Diehl offers modern, risk-aware strategies for tax-efficient wealth transfer and asset protection.

Diehl is a nationally respected speaker and educator on tax, business, and estate topics. He regularly presents to attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors and serves as an Adjunct Professor at Weber State University, where he teaches business law. His practice focuses on high-net-worth clients, closely held business owners, and investors who seek tax minimization and legal protection across generations. At Allegis Law, Rustin provides strategic counsel in transactions, compliance, and long-range planning, including digital asset structuring—to ensure clients can grow and preserve wealth securely.

Allen N. Bradley | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Allen Bradley is a trusted advisor in corporate and partnership taxation with strengths in transaction structuring, executive compensation, and compliance planning. His work frequently involves high-level tax analysis and negotiation with federal authorities, making him especially attuned to the real-world risks and safeguards involved in LLC planning. His broad experience ensures a clear-eyed, detail-driven perspective on how tax law applies to modern entity structures.

Allen Bradley is a transactional tax attorney who assists clients with matters related to corporate and finance transactions, corporate and partnership tax, executive and other non-qualified compensation, and trusts and estates law. Allen also has significant experience with renewable energy tax matters and negotiating contracts for solar energy projects.

Session I – Foundations of LLC Use in Tax and Estate Planning | 12:00pm – 12:30pm

• How LLCs evolved post-Check-the-Box rules
• Choice of entity: Disregarded, partnership, C corporation, S corporation
• Comparison to FLPs (family limited partnerships)

Session II – Pitfalls and Practice Tips | 12:30pm – 1:00pm

• Misalignments between operating agreements and gifting or trust structures
• Use of valuation discounts or appraisals
• Miscommunication gaps between legal and CPA teams in reporting

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

Session III – LLC Operating Agreement Drafting: Legal and Tax Nuance | 1:10pm – 1:40pm

• Avoiding §704(b) allocation pitfalls
  • Substantial economic effect (SEE)
  • Capital account maintenance
  • Default rule (in the absence of specified allocations)
  • Special allocations
  • Contributed property rules
• Structuring manager vs. member control provisions
  • How to elect manager-management
  • Why to elect manager-management
  • Major decisions
• Drafting buy-sell clauses and valuation mechanics
  • As a dispute resolution mechanism
  • Appraised value
  • Shotgun buy/sell
  • Limitations

Session IV – Strategic Planning I – Income Shifting and Freeze Structures | 1:40pm – 2:10pm

• Profits interests freeze: Drafting profits interests in partnerships to allocate future profits and appreciation to beneficiaries, freezing the grantor’s economic stake to minimize estate tax exposure while retaining control
• Freeze structure tools: Utilizing GRATs, IDGTs, or preferred partnership structures to lock in current asset values for estate tax purposes while passing appreciation to heirs
• Tax compliance: Ensuring adherence to IRS rules, such as gift tax exemptions, valuation requirements, and grantor trust regulations, to avoid audits or penalties
• Wealth preservation: Balancing tax savings with asset protection and control to align with long-term estate planning goals

Break | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

Session V – IRS Scrutiny, Audit Risk, and Defensive Planning | 2:20pm – 2:50pm

• Review BBA centralized partnership audit regime
• Describe stages of a BBA audit
• Drafting the operating agreement of an LLC to anticipate a BBA audit
• Lessons learned from syndication of conservation easements

Session VI – Asset Protection and Creditor Structuring | 2:50pm – 4:00pm

• The operations, limitations and effects of charging orders
• How creditors may circumvent charging order exclusivity

Break | 3:20pm – 3:30pm

• Planning and structuring considerations for holding LLC and partnership interests

Session VII – LLCs and Digital Assets/Crypto Holdings | 4:00pm – 4:30pm

• Liability protection: LLCs shield personal assets from risks tied to digital asset ownership, such as lawsuits or creditor claims
• Tax flexibility: Electing pass-through taxation or corporate treatment to optimize tax outcomes for crypto transactions, including capital gains and staking income
• Regulatory compliance: Structuring LLCs to align with securities, anti-money laundering (AML), and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations for digital assets
• Estate planning: Using LLCs to manage private keys, wallets, and beneficiary designations, ensuring seamless transfer of digital assets upon death or incapacity