Mr. O'Hara is a shareholder of the firm. He concentrates in estate planning with an emphasis on estate, gift and generation-skipping taxation. He has broad experience in structuring complex estates, including related corporate, partnership, limited liability company and securities work. Mr. O'Hara also has extensive experience in the areas of estate and trust administration. Mr. O'Hara was admitted to the Alaska Bar in 1984. He received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1984 and a B.A. from University of St. Thomas in 1979.
Mr. O'Hara is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and served as Chair of the Alaska Bar Association Section on Estate Planning and Probate from 1989 to 1992. He is a member of the Alaska Pacific University Foundation Board of Directors. Mr. O'Hara is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (categories Trusts and Estates Law, Corporate Law, Tax Law, and NonProfit/Charities Law).
Mr. O'Hara is the author of numerous publications including: Thinking Outside the Code, 116 (No.8) Tax Notes 679 (August 20, 2007); Working In A World With The GST Tax, 137 Trusts & Estates 47 (1998); Column, Estate Planning Corner, Alaska Bar Rag, 1989-Present; Using Ascertainable Standards for Distributions from Trusts, 10 The Audio Estate Planner (Summer 1994); In Search of the Meaning of Income: Glenshaw Glass Revisited, 127 Trusts & Estates 50 (1988); and The Creation, Operation and Dissolution of a Limited Partnership in Alaska, 2 Alaska Law Review 271 (1985).
Following is a list of short estate planning articles written by Steven T. O'Hara. If you would like to receive a free copy of any one or more of them, please call Karen Burgess at (907) 276-1711.
1.
Taxes Applicable in Alaska
2. Understanding the Gift Tax Exclusion
3. There's a Major Disadvantage to Gifting
4. The Community Property Advantage
5. Educational & Medical "Gifts"
6. Beware of Retroactive Legislation
7. Determining the Federal Estate Tax
8. Estate Planning is Not Wasting Opportunities
9. Equalize Assets
10. "Per Stirpes" Defined
11. The Gift Tax is Tax-exclusive
12. Defining a Gift for Tax Purposes
13. One-Pot Trust vs. Multiple Trusts
14. Personal Guarantee May be a Taxable Gift
15. Securities Laws
16. "Simple" or Basic Will
17. Term vs. Cash Value Life Insurance
18. The Federal Generation-Skipping Tax
19. Disability Insurance
20. Taxes: "Enjoy" Them While They're Low
21. Buy-Sell Agreements
22. Forms and Publications
23. Life Insurance Ownership
24. The Qualified Disclaimer
25. Estate Planning is More Than a Will
26. Who May Make A Will?
27. More on Stepping Up Tax Basis
28. New Estate and Trust Tax Rates
29. Calculating the Federal Gift Tax
30. Trustee Removal and Appointment Powers
31. Pitfalls in Using the Ascertainable Standard
32. Shifting Trustee's Distribution Power
33. Tax Considerations in Trustee Selection
34. The Ascertainable Standard
35. Powers of Appointment
36. Consider Skipping Generations
37. Deathbed Planning With Retirement Accounts
38. Selecting an Estate's Tax Year
39. Creating a Nonprofit Organization
40. The QTIP Trust
41. Life Insurance on Children
42. Give Personal Effects by Specific Bequest
43. GST Tax Exemptions and Exclusions
44. Working In A World With The GST Tax
45. Direct Skips vs. Taxable Distributions & Terminations
46. $1,000,000 GST Exemption
47. A Disadvantage of Retirement Plans
48. Generation Assignment Under The GST Tax
49. Will Congress Abolish the Estate Tax?
50. The Alaska Asset Protection Trust
51. The Grantor Trust Rules - Part I
52. The Grantor Trust Rules - Part II
53. The Cost of a Simple Will
54. The Four Legs of Estate Planning
55. The Predeceased-Parent Exception
56. The Alaska Community Property Act
57. The Creation of Alaska Community Property
58. Creditors and Alaska Community Property
59. Exceptions To Step-Up In Tax Basis At Death
60. Second-to-Die Insurance
61. Tax Deferral Can Be Costly
62. Life Insurance Trusts - Part I
63. Life Insurance Trusts - Part II
64. Update on Trustee Removal and Appointment Powers
65. The Cost of a Simple Will in the New Millenium
66. Who Benefits From Retirement Plans?
67. Who Benefits From Retirement Plans? Part II
68. LLCs and Selected Tax Issues
69. Taxes Will Never Die
70. Tax-Free Transfers
71. Family Limited Partnerships
72. Family Limited Partnerships Part II
73. Gifting Can Increase Taxes in Certain LLC Conditions
74. “Repeal” of Estate Taxes
75. The Gift Tax is Here to Stay
76. Will Congress Abolish Basis Step-up?
77. Tax-Free Transfers in 2002 and Beyond
78. The Cost of a Simple Will in 2002
79. Documents Have Never Been More Complicated
80. Avoid Greed In Planning
81. Self-Settled Trusts
82. Beneficiary Designations
83. Quality Over Quantity
84. The Cost of a Simple Will in 2004
85. Gifts In Trust May Be More Valuable
86. Alaska's Advance Health Care Directive Changes in 2005
87. The Future of the Federal Estate Tax
88. The Cost of a Simple Will in 2006
89. Aircraft and Watercraft Liability
90. The Future of the Federal Estate Tax-2006 Edition
91. Full and Fair Disclosure of Assets and Intent
92. Some Sample Estate Planning Letters
93. Estate Planning Letters – Part 2
94. Thinking Outside the Internal Revenue Code
95. Estate Planning Letters – Park 3
96. The Future of the Federal Estate Tax – 2008 Edition
97. Turning Things Upside Down
98. The High Cost of a Simple Will in 2009
99. The Future of the Estate Tax 2009 Edition
