Milwaukee Office
411 East Wisconsin Avenue Suite 2350
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin
53202
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Professional Experience
John Bannen’s practice focuses on estate planning and probate matters for individuals, small business owners and professionals, marital property issues and agreements, review and evaluation of life insurance and annuity products, split dollar arrangements and related life insurance premiums for business owners, counseling small employers on pension and profit-sharing alternatives and distribution strategies for accumulations of retirement income. Client representation in estate tax audits, pension and profit sharing audits and probate court and administrative practice. His special experience includes:
- Intergenerational family wealth protection; drafting wills and trusts to minimize the effect of taxes and to minimize the risk of creditors' claims and division of assets in the event of divorce.
- Planning for retirement, including distribution strategies for maximum income tax savings for retirement income, including pension, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans, and IRAs; planning for long term care expenses and consideration of home care and nursing home insurance.
- Planning to simplify the passage of property to spouses and children upon death, focusing on avoidance of probate.
- Independent and unbiased review life insurance and annuity needs and products; consideration of life insurance based tax strategies and planning.
- Settling disputes among family members relating to wills, trusts or probate or trust administration.
Education and Honors
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (M.A.F.L.L., 2011)
- University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (B.A., 2003)
- DePaul University (LL.M., 1989)
- Marquette University Law School (J.D., 1976)
- College of St. Thomas (B.A., 1973)
Bar Admissions
Wisconsin,
1976
Court Admissions
U.S. Tax Court, 1983
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin, 1979
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, 1979
Professional Recognition
- Selected as Five Star Wealth Manager (2010 and 2011).
- Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (1995-present: Trusts and Estates).
- Named the Best Lawyers’ 2010 Milwaukee Trusts & Estates Lawyer of the Year.
- Selected for inclusion in the 2005-2011 Wisconsin Super Lawyers® lists (Estate Planning & Probate).
- Martindale-Hubbell AV® Peer Review Rated.
- Board Certified Estate Planning Law Specialist as accredited by American Bar Association.
- Chartered Life Underwriter.
Professional and Civic Activities
Milwaukee Bar Association (Chairman, Legal Services For the Elderly Committee, (1984-1986); Chairman, Probate, Practice and Procedure, 1987-1988); American Bar Association (Taxation and Real Property, Probate and Trust Sections); State Bar of Wisconsin (Director, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections 1990-1993); Member: Taxation Section, Inter-Professional Relations Accountants’ Committee, (1976-1980); Wisconsin Society of Chartered Life Underwriters (Director 1996-1998); American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters (CLU), Associate Member Association for Advanced Life Underwriters (AALU) (1999-present); Wisconsin Retirement Plan Professionals, Ltd. (Director, 1987-1990). Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, (1990-present); Wisconsin State Chair (2007-present); Wisconsin State Laws Coordinator (1992-1995), Committee Chair Employee Benefits in Estate Planning (2002-2005); Greater Milwaukee Employee Benefits Council; Instructor, Estate Administration Section of General Practice program, University of Wisconsin Law School, 1981. Member, Planned Giving Committee, Next Door Foundation, Inc.; Member, Planned Giving Committee Milwaukee Zoological Society; Member, Planned Giving Committee, School Sisters of Notre Dame. President, School Sisters of Notre Dame Advisory Counsel (1995-1998). Westwind Greens Owners Association, Inc. (Director, 1991-1995); Wauwatosa Knights of Columbus Foundation, Inc. (Trustee, 1982-1999); St. Michael's Cemetery Association (Secretary, 1991- ). Trustee, Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi Ongoing Community Support Plan (1995-2005); Trustee, Servants of Mary Continuing Care Charitable Trust (2003-2005); Trustee, Society of the Divine Savior Ongoing Support Trust (2004-2005); Trustee and Treasurer, Christ King Parish Community (1995-1998).
Languages
Spanish
Selected Presentations/Publications
Publications:
- Co-author (with Kristin Occhetti), “Health Savings Accounts: The New Asset on the Estate Planners’ Checklist,” Probate & Property, November/December 2009.
- “No Lapse Guarantee Life Insurance Policies: An Answer To An Insured’s Prayer or a Fiduciary Nightmare,” Spring Issue of American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, 2005.
- “Planning for Distributions from Qualified Plans, IRAs, and Tax Sheltered Annuities,” published study for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1999, updated in 2001 and 2003.
- Co-author, “Marital Property Act Creates New Critical Notes in Probate,” Milwaukee Lawyer 1988, Vol. 10, No. 4; Wisconsin State Bar Bulletin, February 1982, Vol. 99, No. 2.
Presentations:
- “Longevity Annuities Catch a Break; Exemption from Certain IRA Required Minimum Distribution Rules” and “Fun Things You Can Do With the New IRS Life insurance and Annuity Partial Tax-Free Exchange Rules,” American College of Trusts and Estates Council annual meeting to the Committee on Employee Benefits in Estate Planning, Miami, Florida, 2012.
- Co-presenter (with Adam Kiracofe), “Using Charitable Distribution Trusts to Simplify IRA Charitable Contributions at Death,” Partnership for Philanthropic Planning of Eastern Wisconsin, 2012.
- “When I Was Young, I Thought I Would Live Forever, Now That I Am Old, I’m Afraid That I Will: A Discussion of Longevity Annuities and Their Place in Retirement Income Planning,” American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Employee Benefit Committee, Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia, 2011.
- “What to Do When Your Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust No Longer Says What You Want it To,” Quarles & Brady LLP Associate Training, 2011.
- “Why Would Anyone Invest Their IRA Assets in an IRA Annuity? A Discussion of Annuity Company Guarantees,” 2011 Midwinter Estate Planning Clinic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
- “Drafting Conduit Trust Language to Facilitate Inter-Generational IRA Transfers” Quarles & Brady Trust & Estate National Team Meeting, 2008.
- “Life Insurance Tax Traps: Things to Know Before it is too Late” Quarles & Brady Associate Training, 2007.
- “Life Insurance Policy Selection: Which Policy for Which Client?” Quarles & Brady Associate Training, 2006.
- “Changes in Medicaid Annuity Rules Under Deficit Reduction Act of 2005” Providence, Rhode Island, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Employee Benefits Committee Meeting, 2006.
- “Making Sense Out of a Bewildering Array of Life Insurance Products,” Quarles & Brady Associate Training, 2006.
- “Nonqualified Variable Annuities in Estate Planning: Making the Best of a (Sometimes) Bad Deal,” U.S. Law Firm Group Fall Meeting, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2006.
- “No Lapse/Secondary Guarantee Life Insurance Policies: What Are They, What are the Pros and Cons, What are the ILIT Fiduciary Concerns, Seattle Washington Bar Association, 2005.
- “The Seven Deadly Sins of Retirement Income Planning,” Corporate Practice Institute, Milwaukee, 2005.
- “Universal Life With Secondary Guarantees,” Northwestern Mutual Life Regional Meetings, New York, Chicago, New Orleans and San Francisco, 2005.
- “No Lapse/Secondary Guarantee Life Insurance Policies: What are They, and are They Appropriate for Estate Planning” ALI/ABA Sophisticated Estate Planning, Boston, Massachusetts, 2005.
- “Nuts and Bolts of Exiting a Practice: A Discussion of Employee Benefit Issues for Retiring Lawyers,” State Bar of Wisconsin Annual Convention, 2004.
- “Whose Estate Plan is it Anyway: Lawyer Participation in Client’s Estate Plans,” Midwinter Estate Planning Clinic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 2004.
- “Practical Advice for Common Problems, Planning for Pre- and Post-Mortem Distributions from IRAs and Qualified Plans,” American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, 2004.
- “Annuities in Estate Planning and Estate Administration,” Milwaukee Legal Assistants Association, 2003.
- “Split Dollar Year End Deadlines,” WICPA 67th Annual Tax Conference, 2003.
- “Practical Examples of Required IRA Distributions Under Final I.R.C. § 401(a)(9) Regulations: Eleven Vignettes,” Milwaukee Legal Assistants Association, 2003.
- “Tax Planning With Nonqualified Tax Deferred Annuities,” Financial Planning Association, Wisconsin Institute of CPAs, 2003.
- “Update on Split Dollar Issues and Valuation of Life Insurance Economic Benefits,” American Federal Tax Institute, Birmingham, Alabama, 2003.
- “Split Dollar Life Insurance, What Happened, What to do Now,” ALI/ABA Sophisticated Estate Planning, Boston, Massachusetts, 2002.
- “How to Create Tax Favored Wealth With Life Insurance; The Use of Life Insurance in Sophisticated Estate and Income Tax Planning,” Lorman Educational Services, 2002.
- “Wills, Patrimony and Title XIX Estate Recovery,” National Association for Treasurers of Religious Institutes, 2001.
- “Planning for the One-Year Estate Tax Repeal and Other Absurdities,” Planned Giving Council of Southeastern Wisconsin, 2001.
- “Planning for Retirement,” Junior Achievement National Leadership Meeting, Milwaukee, 2001.
- “Split Dollar Insurance Arrangements and the Effect of IRS Notice 2001-10,” Quarles & Brady Seminar, 2001.
- “An Incomplete But Hopefully Not Misleading Discussion of Variable Annuities, Private Split Dollar and Sales of Insurance Policies By Older Insureds,” Midwinter Estate Planning Clinic, 1999.
- “Long Term Care Insurance, A Product for the Future,” Midwinter Estate Planning Clinic, 1997.
- Instructor, “Planning for Distributions from Qualified Plans,” Northwestern Mutual Life Annual Planning School,
1997-1999.
- “Split Dollar Insurance, The Basics,” Quarles and Brady seminar, 1996.
- “A Few Simple Thoughts on Planning for Large IRA’s and Pension/Profit Sharing Distributions,” Midwinter Estate Planning Clinic 1996.
- “Life Insurance In Business Planning,” Quarles and Brady seminar, 1996.
- “Tax Planning for Qualified Plan Distributions,” State Bar of Wisconsin program, 1988.
- “Practical Estate Planning & Probate Problems,” State Bar of Wisconsin program, 1991.
- “Valuing Closely Held Corporations; Postmortem Estate Planning,” State Bar of Wisconsin program, 1991.
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