Gary D. Altman

“Practicing estate planning is more than a career, it’s what I love to do. Even after 25 years of business, I feel honored each and every time a client chooses us for their estate planning.”

Gary Altman

Gary D. Altman

Founder and Chair

Gary Altman, Esq. is the Founder and Principal Attorney of the estate planning law firm, Altman & Associates, where he has been serving the Washington metropolitan area, practicing law and estate planning since 1980.

A nationally recognized estate, legacy and business planning authority, Gary’s “outstanding expertise, trustworthiness, and commitment to his clients’ needs” has earned him repeated recognition by Washingtonian magazine and Bethesda magazine as among the DC, Maryland region’s “Best Estate Planners”. He has also been repeatedly honored as a “Top 100 Attorney” by Worth magazine and likewise recognized as a Maryland and Washington, DC “Super Lawyer”.

As a trusted legal analyst, Gary has lent his expertise and authored articles for a wide range of media outlets including The Washington PostThe NY TimesThe Journal of Financial AdvisorsThe Wall Street Journal, Boomer-Living.com, FOX News, and more.  He writes an estate planning blog, Altman Speaks, which can be found via the firm’s website.

Gary brings over 30 years of experience practicing exclusively in the estate planning area of the law.  His depth of knowledge and of experience has enabled him to counsel his clients in the generational transfer of wealth. Clients often seek Gary’s advice on complicated estate matters to include contested estates and trusts and probate matters. He represents individuals, couples, high net worth families, corporate fiduciaries, businesses, and charitable organizations in controversies involving wills and trusts to include serving as an expert witness. Gary has achieved success involving the construction and reformation of a trust in front of the court, improper overreach, and influence of an individual or situations of fiduciary breach of duty.

As an industry leader, Gary has taught various estate planning courses to attorneys, accountants, and financial planners. He continues to serve as a Past President and Chairman on the board of Hope Connections for Cancer Support.  Gary has served as the President and Chairman of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Financial Planning Association and held the same position for the National Capital Chapter of the Society for Financial Service Professionals. He maintains an active participation in both financial planning associations and continues with charitable, civic and faith based organizations that enrich the community. In 2013, Gary was appointed to be the chair of the DC Taxicab Commission and as the chair of the DC Traffic Adjudication Appeals Board. In 2015, he was a member of Leadership Montgomery’s Core Program.

Gary resides with his wife Elizabeth and their two Labrador retrievers.  He enjoys spending his free time playing racket sports, reading, gardening, and restoring his pre-civil war historic home in Potomac, Maryland. Gary is a wine aficionado and enjoys BBQing and making homemade brick oven pizzas for friends and colleagues.

Gary can be reached by e-mail at gary@altmanassociates.net or by phone at (301) 468-3220.

Areas of Practice

•  Trust and Estates Taxation
•  Probate and Estate Administration
•  Estate Planning
•  Wills
•  Powers of Attorney and Advanced Medical Directives
•  Trust Law
•  Special Needs Planning
•  Asset Protection
•  Trust, Estate and Investment Management Litigation
•  Tax and Business Succession Planning
•  Charitable Trusts and Foundations
•  Retirement Planning
•  Life Insurance Planning
•  Pre-and Post Marital Planning

Certifications

•  Certified Financial Planner Professional, 1988
•  Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, STEP, 2010
•  Expert Witness – Fiduciary

Bar Admissions

• District of Columbia1980
• Maryland1992
• Virginia2016
• New York2016

Education

• Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, District of Columbia, 1992 L.L.M., Major: Taxation
• New York University School of Law, New York, New York, 1980 J.D.
• Wesleyan University, 1977 B.S.

Professional Associations & Memberships

• Association of Small Foundations
• American Bar Association
• Maryland State Bar Association
• District of Columbia Bar Association
• National Capital Chapter of Financial Planning
• Financial Planning Association Chapter Leadership Council
• Maryland Chamber of Commerce
• District of Columbia Estate Planning Council
• Maryland Estate Planning Council
• The Academy of Special Needs Founding Member
• National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors
• Wealth Counsel Advisors Forum
• Steering Committee of the DC Bar Estates, Trusts, Probate Law Section
• Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
• The Greater Bethesda and Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce
• Rockville Chamber of Commerce
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