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Upcoming events

    • March 18, 2026
    • 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
    • The City Club of San Francisco, 155 Sansome Street, 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104
    Register

    Trusts & Taxes in the Golden State: Cracking the Code 

    Wednesday, March 18 @ 5:00 pm | City Club of SF
    Featured Speakers: Chris Parker and Sonia Woodruff 


    * Please RSVP by March 16, 2026 *

    Speakers

    • Chris Parker, Baker Tilly and Sonia Woodruff, Franchise Tax Board

    Topic

    Trusts & Taxes in the Golden State: Cracking the Code 

    California’s rules for taxing trusts are complex, evolving, and often misunderstood. From residency determinations to contingent beneficiaries and fiduciary classifications, even experienced advisors can find themselves navigating uncertain territory.

    Join us for a timely and practical program examining how California taxes trusts and estates. This session will unpack the statutory framework and recent developments shaping trust taxation and explore how those rules affect estate planners, accountants, fiduciaries, and advisors working with California clients.

    The program features Sonia Woodruff and Chris Parker, who have deep expertise on both the government and advisory sides of trust taxation.

    • Sonia Woodruff, Tax Counsel IV with the California Franchise Tax Board’s General Tax Bureau (GTB), brings a regulatory perspective from the agency responsible for administering and enforcing the Personal Income Tax Law as it applies to individuals and pass-through entities. The GTB also handles protests, appeals, litigation support, legislative review, public presentations, and interdepartmental coordination on tax issues within its jurisdiction. Sonia’s role provides direct insight into how California interprets and applies trust taxation rules in practice.
    • Chris Parker, a Principal at Baker Tilly, advises executives, business owners, and individuals on complex state tax matters, including residency, wealth transfer planning, and strategic tax planning opportunities. Chris began his tax career with the California Franchise Tax Board before transitioning to private practice, bringing a valuable combination of government and advisory experience to his work with clients.

    Together, Sonia and Chris will break down the key rules and emerging issues shaping California trust taxation today, including:

    • Identifying who qualifies as a fiduciary under California law
    • Evaluating contingent beneficiaries for California reporting purposes
    • Understanding the evolving treatment of Incomplete Non-Grantor Trusts (INGs) and recent legislative developments 

    Agenda

    • 5pm - 6pm: Networking, cocktails, and appetizers
    • 6pm - 730pm: Meeting and content presentation

    Cost

    • $125 Members (pre-registered)*
    • $185 Guests (pre-registered)*

    *An additional $25 fee applies if you register at the door. Please also note that non-member attendance fees are $185 per monthly meeting, effective as of January 1, 2026.

    About the Speakers

    Chris Parker

    Chris Parker is a tax principal with Baker Tilly who began his tax career at California’s Franchise Tax Board in 2004 and joined the firm in 2015. Chris works with executives, business owners, and individuals on matters including wealth transfer, compensation, residency, and planning opportunities.

    Chris resolved the first matter for the firm to ever go before California’s Office of Tax Appeals, which provided substantial benefits to the clients. Chris works with business and individual clients at every level of administrative controversy.

    Sonia Woodruff

    Sonia D. Woodruff is an Attorney IV with the California Franchise Tax Board. Sonia has been with the Franchise Tax Board for fifteen years in the General Tax Law Division, focusing on all areas of Personal Income Tax law. Sonia is the Legal Department’s subject matter expert on the taxation of Trusts and Estates. Prior to public service, Sonia worked in private practice with an emphasis on probate, estate planning, tax planning and trust and estate litigation. She obtained her J.D. from the school formerly known as UC Hastings (now UC Law San Francisco) and her B.A. in English Literature from UC Berkeley.

    CE Credit: This activity may be approved for continuing education credit by the State Bar of California and CFP Board. Certificates are provided after attendance.

    Excused Absence: Members can request an excused absence in writing emailing us prior to the meeting.

    Cancellations must be received three business days prior to the meeting.

    • May 20, 2026
    • 5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
    • The City Club of San Francisco, 155 Sansome Street, 11th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104

    Planning With, and The Pitfalls of SLATs, A Cautionary Tale of Two Trusts

    Wednesday, May 20th @ 5:00 pm | City Club of SF

    Featured Speakers: Laura Zwicker and Stefanie Lipson, both partners at Greenberg Glusker


    * Please RSVP by May 18, 2026 to avoid a late registration fee.*

    Join us for our May member meeting.

    Topic

    Planning With, and The Pitfalls of SLATs, A Cautionary Tale of Two Trusts explores the strategic use of Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) in estate planning. The presentation highlights how SLATs can help high-net-worth couples transfer wealth while retaining indirect access to assets, and examines common design mistakes that can undermine these benefits. Through a practical “two trusts” scenario, it illustrates key risks—such as the reciprocal trust doctrine, loss of spousal access, and coordination issues—offering guidance on how thoughtful structuring can help avoid costly pitfalls.

    Agenda

    • 5pm - 6pm: Networking, cocktails, and appetizers
    • 6pm - 730pm: Meeting and content presentation

    Cost

    • $125 Members (pre-registered)*
    • $185 Guests (pre-registered)*
      *An additional $25 fee applies if you register at the door.

      About the Speakers

      Laura Zwicker

      Laura Zwicker is Co-Chair of the Private Client Services Group at Greenberg Glusker and leads its International Private Wealth Law practice.

      Laura’s practice focuses on advising multinational and domestic families across generations on the tax, trust, and philanthropic issues involved in global and domestic wealth transfer. Laura provides tailored advice on tax residency and pre-immigration and emigration structuring, counsels founders on liquidity event planning, and serves as outside counsel to family offices and fiduciaries on a variety of planning issues, including the implications of family members and beneficiaries becoming, or ceasing to be, U.S. tax residents. Laura partners with leading legal, tax, and family office advisors across Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, to ensure integrated structuring that best achieves clients’ objectives across jurisdictions.

      Laura has received many accolades, including being ranked in Chambers and Partners Global High Net Worth Guide (2016–2025) for Private Wealth Law and named to The Hollywood Reporter's Troubleshooters, an elite list of power lawyers. She has also been recognized in the Daily Journal, National Law Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, The Best Lawyers in America®, and Legal 500.

      She frequently provides media commentary and has been featured in The Times of London, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Business Insider, Financial Planning, Wealth Management, Bloomberg Tax, Bloomberg Law Podcast, and Law360. 

      Stefanie Lipson

      Stefanie J. Lipson is Co-Chair of the Private Client Services Group at Greenberg Glusker and leads their Family Office Advisory practice.

      Stefanie provides comprehensive counsel to domestic and international families, family offices, real estate and tech entrepreneurs, high-profile entertainment figures, private investors, and closely held business owners and founders in all aspects of personal wealth, tax, estate, and succession planning.

      Stefanie is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), is a full member (TEP) of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and is recognized in Chambers' High Net Worth Guide in the area of Private Wealth Law and featured in The Best Lawyers in America.®

      CE Credit: This activity may be approved for continuing education credit by the State Bar of California and CFP Board. Certificates are provided after attendance.

      Excused Absence: Members can request an excused absence in writing emailing us prior to the meeting.

      Cancellations must be received three business days prior to the meeting.

      • June 12, 2026
      • 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
      • The City Club of San Francisco, 155 Sansome St 10th floor, San Francisco, CA, 94104

      Save the date for the 2026 Summer Symposium!

      More details to come...


      Cancellations must be received three business days prior to the meeting.

      • June 12, 2026
      • 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM
      • The City Club of San Francisco, 155 Sansome St 10th floor, San Francisco, CA, 94104

      Save the date for our 2026 Summer Social!


      Details to come...

    Past events

    January 21, 2026 OB3 and Me: What Estate Planners Need to Know About the New Tax Act
    November 19, 2025 Charitable Planning in 2026 – The Beautiful and Not So Beautiful Impacts of Recent Federal Tax Legislation
    September 17, 2025 Working Through Family Conflict Before and After Death By Use Of Mediation
    June 05, 2025 2025 SFEPC Annual Summer Social
    June 05, 2025 2025 SFEPC Annual Estate Planning Symposium
    May 21, 2025 GST Tax Planning + Developments
    March 19, 2025 2024 Updates and a View of 2025: Are You Ready for the Latest Misinformation and Lies?
    January 15, 2025 Planners Plan and Litigators Laugh: How Will a Court Interpret Your Well-Intended Plan?
    November 20, 2024 Trust and Estate Planning for Retirement Accounts
    September 18, 2024 Recent Developments in Estate and Gift Tax at the IRS
    June 14, 2024 SFEPC/GGU Annual Trust and Estate Summer Symposium
    June 13, 2024 SFEPC Summer Social
    May 15, 2024 The California Uniform Directed Trust Act: Better Late Than Never
    March 20, 2024 Hot Topics in CA State and Local Taxation
    January 17, 2024 Resting Easy: Proactively Addressing One’s Care Both Approaching and Following End of Life
    November 29, 2023 Year-End Charitable Planning
    October 17, 2023 San Francisco Estate Planning Council Fall Soiree Hosted by Bonhams
    September 20, 2023 Recent Developments in Estate and Gift Tax at IRS
    May 17, 2023 Goblins Lamentation List: Unscrambling “Installment Obligations”
    March 15, 2023 Federal Tax Update
    January 18, 2023 Estate Planning for Blended Families: Yours, Mine and Ours
    November 16, 2022 The Future of Qualified Small Business Stock: A Review of Current Practices and Consideration of the Unanswered Questions
    September 28, 2022 Achieving Audit Readiness: A Litigator’s Look at the IRS’s Transfer Tax Focus Issues
    May 18, 2022 SFEPC - May 18, 2022 Meeting - The Forgotten 40 Acres: Repairing Racial Wealth Disparity Using the Estate Tax and New Charitable Incentives.
    April 20, 2022 San Francisco Estate Planning Council Reception Hosted by Bonhams
    March 16, 2022 SFEPC - March 16, 2022 Meeting - Estate Planning Current Developments
    January 19, 2022 SFEPC - January 19, 2022 Meeting - Assets Protection in California

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