Experienced counsel on wealth planning, trust and estate administration, philanthropy

Kirk Hoopingarner guides high-net-worth families and individuals on all facets of wealth planning and philanthropy. He counsels them on all aspects related to the management and transfer of wealth and has extensive experience in sophisticated charitable planning, both for individual donors and charitable organizations. Kirk's experience includes:

• Charitable gifting techniques
• All types of trusts used in family wealth management and transfers
• Business succession planning
• Family limited partnerships and limited liability companies
• Federal and state estate and gift tax planning

For over 35 years, Kirk has advised families in the administration and transfer of wealth, always aiming to ensure the plans preserve and grow their wealth and minimize its reduction by taxes, administrative costs and litigation. Many of his clients are multi-generation families, often counseling grandchildren of clients he started representing in the late 1980s. He also counsels on charitable giving to increase tax savings while improving the impact and accountability of donations. Kirk has frequently counseled charitable organizations in administration of charitable giving and assisted in enhancing planned giving programs. 

Bar Admissions

• Illinois

Education

• Hope College (B.A., 1981)

• University of Michigan Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1984)

• "A 360 On Donor Advised Funds: How They Are Changing Charitable Giving"
• "A Bequest Administration Primer: Part I and Part II"
• "Aging Donors: Capacity vs. Incapacity - Best Practices for Professional Advisors"
• "All in the Details: Gift Substantiation Requirements"
• "Best Strategies for You and Your Clients to Be Charitable Under the New Tax Law"
• "Beware Noncharitable Scams and Schemes"
• "Changing Views of Philanthropy as We Face The Great Wealth Transfer"
• "Chapter 5—Family Limited Partnerships"
• "Charitable Giving from Irrevocable Family Trusts"
• "Charitable Giving from Irrevocable Family Trusts"
• "Charitable Giving in Times of Economic Turbulence"
• "Charitable Planning Desk Reference for Advisors- Fifth Edition (2018)"
• "Charitable Planning in Light of Possible Sweeping Tax Reform Legislation"
• "Charitable Planning in These Uncertain Times"
• "Charitable Planning Methods and What They Mean for Your Clients"
• "Considerations for Use of Donor Advised Funds for Charitable Giving"
• "Considerations Regarding the Mental Capacity to Give"
• "Conversions of Private Foundations to Donor Advised Funds"
• "Conversions of Private Foundations to Donor Advised Funds"
• "Designing Charitable Gifts with Noncash Assets"
• "Donor Advised Funds and Social Impact Investing"
• "Effectively Engaging Donors in Planned Giving"
• "Enforcing Unfulfilled Pledges"
• "Estate Planning Considerations for Parents of Disabled Children"
• "Estate Planning"
• "Family Business Succession Planning"
• "Family Limited Partnerships"
• "Giving 2018: National Trends and Local Impact"
• "Giving Options: Understand and Leverage Different Ways to Give"
• "Hope Is Not a Strategy"
• "How to Incorporate Planned Giving Into Your Fundraising Strategy"
• "How to Keep Your Donors in Tune with the New Tax Legislation"
• "How to Minimize Naming Rights Conflicts"
• "Impact of Federal and State Estate Tax Reform on Charitable Giving"
• "Innovative Philanthropy: Helping Clients Thrive While They Make the World a Better Place"
• "Legal Issues to Consider When Being Strategic in Spending Down...or Choosing Perpetuity"
• "Maximizing the Impact of Charitable Giving Through Community Foundations"
• "Navigating Philanthropy Under the New Tax Law"
• "Navigating the Changing Landscape of Philanthropic Investment"
• "Offering DAFs - How to Impact Donor Giving"
• "Outlook of Philanthropy in 2016"
• "Planned Giving Workshop"
• "Planning for Disability"
• "Prepare for Bequest Challenges Based on Alleged Undue Influence or Incapacity"
• "Reading the Tea Leaves: How Tax Reform Could Impact Future Charitable Planning"
• "Reflections on Charitable Planning Two Years after the American Taxpayer Relief Act"
• "Reflections on Charitable Planning Two Years after the American Taxpayer Relief Act"
• "Responsible Investment Practices for Nonprofit Managers and Directors"
• "Tax Reform and its Potential Impact on Donors"
• "Ten Things Not to Miss in Charitable Planning"
• "Ten Things Not to Miss in Charitable Planning"
• "Ten Things Not to Miss in Charitable Planning"
• "The Charitable Tax Deduction and Exemption: Calm Before the Storm?"
• "The Effect of the Economic Downturn and 2009 Federal Tax Legislation on Charitable Planning Techniques"
• "The Effect of the Economic Downturn on Charitable Planning Techniques"
• "The Estate Collar: Help Estates Profit from the Market"
• "The Implications of Donor Advised Funds on Planned Giving"
• "The Rise of the DAF: Why and What You Need to Know to Advise Your Clients,"
• "The Rise of the Family Foundation"
• "Top 10 Ways to Build a Sustainable Source of Future Revenue Through a Planned Legacy Gifts Program"
• "Top Myths and the Great Wealth Transfer"
• "Trends in Charitable Giving"
• "Update Your Estate Plan to Meet your Goals: Estate Planning Tools to Help your manage your Health Care and Finances Now and Efficiently Transfer your Assets at the End of your Lifetime"
• "Using Noncharitable Trusts for Charitable Giving"
• "When Private Foundations Spend Down"
• Considerations in Designing and Administering Irrevocable Trusts to Permit Distributions for Philanthropy
• For Trusts With No Current Illinois Connection, Income Tax is Unconstitutional
• In Wake of Marriage Equality Ruling, Estate Plans Deserve Attention
• The Coming Wealth Transfer Tidal Wave and Charitable Giving
• There’s no Place Like Home
• “Tax on trusts is unconstitutional if no connection to Illinois”

Seminar

• Changing Views of Philanthropy as We Face “The Great Wealth Transfer”
• Considerations for Use of Donor Advised Funds for Charitable Giving
• DAF's - How to Impact Donor Giving
• Innovative Philanthropy: Helping Clients Thrive While They Make the World a Better Place
• Reading the Tea Leaves: How Tax Reform Could Impact Future Charitable Planning
• Trends in Charitable Planning
• Update Your Estate Plan to Meet Your Goals: Estate Planning Tools to Help You Manage Your Health Care and Finances Now and Efficiently Transfer Your Assets at the End of your Lifetime