Jessica Coutré

Jessica is an attorney in the firm's private client group, where she concentrates her practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration and controversy, and related gift, estate, and generation-skipping transfer tax issues for high and ultra-high net worth individuals, their families, and their businesses.

Jessica advises clients on the structuring and implementation of advanced estate planning strategies, including the creation and funding of GRATs, intentionally-defective grantor trusts, insurance trusts, family investment vehicles, and family office structures, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, trust modifications, and charitable planning through the creation of private foundations and public charities and negotiation of restricted gift agreements. She works closely with clients to advise them regarding asset protection planning, business succession planning, and fiduciary income and estate and gift tax issues.

Additionally, she advises corporate and individual fiduciaries on estate, gift, and GST tax consequences of proposed transactions and distributions, considerations concerning foreign grantors and beneficiaries, trust modification, and trust construction issues, including court constructions, reformations, and nonjudicial settlement agreements.

Jessica administers taxable decedent's estates for U.S. and foreign decedents and related trusts, including preparing estate tax returns. When estate and trust matters escalate into controversies, Jessica works to find practical solutions and family reconciliation through the use of nonjudicial settlement agreements and other pre-litigation resolution techniques, as well as representing clients in trust and estate litigation matters.

In recognition of her legal work in trusts and estates, Jessica was previously selected as a 2020-2022 ACTEC Dennis I. Belcher Young Leader and a 2018-2022 fellow for the American Bar Association – Real Property, Trust & Estate Section.