Mr. Allevato has retired from active participation with the firm. During his years of active practice, his primary areas of practice were federal taxation, estate planning, corporate, health care law and public finance.

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Experience

• Counseling and advising high-net-worth clients regarding estate and tax planning matters, including succession issues for closely held business clients and preparation of estate planning documents
• Advising clients on matters pertaining to the federal income tax laws, to minimize the impact of taxes on business transactions
• Advising and counseling fiduciaries on trust, probate and estate matters, and assisting in litigation matters involving fiduciaries
• Advocating matters before the Internal Revenue Service on client issues, including audits and appeals from audit determinations, compliance, collections and United States Tax Court matters
• Regularly counseling clients on federal tax-exempt issues, including matters involving not-for-profit health care entities and higher educational institutions
• Representing businesses and individuals in business dealings, such as acquisitions, divestitures, business combinations and entity selection matters
• Counseling on tax issues incident to tax-exempt bond financings
• Adjunct Lecturer, West Virginia University College of Law, Morgantown, West Virginia, teaching Estate Planning, 2002 – 2006; Estate and Gift Tax, 2016, 2020
• Adjunct Professor, Capital University Law School and Capital University Graduate Tax Program, Columbus, Ohio, teaching classes in Estate Planning, Federal Estate and Gift Taxation, Advanced Income Taxation, 1982 – 1997

Education

• West Virginia Wesleyan College, B.S., magna cum laude, 1976
• Washington and Lee University School of Law, J.D., cum laude, 1979

Distinctions

• Fellow, The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
• Named the Best Lawyers^® 2018 and 2023 "Lawyer of the Year" for Trusts & Estates in Charleston, W.Va.
• Named the Best Lawyers^® 2015 "Lawyer of the Year" for Litigation and Controversy - Tax in Charleston, W.Va.
• Recognized by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business for Corporate/Commercial: Tax
• Recognized by Chambers USA: High Net Worth Guide as a leading lawyer in West Virginia for Private Wealth Law
• Selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Litigation & Controversy - Tax Law, Tax Law, and Trusts & Estates
• Selected by his peers for inclusion in West Virginia Super Lawyers in Taxation, Estate Planning and Business/Corporate, 2007 - 2011, 2018 - 2021
• AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell for over 25 years

 

Admissions

• West Virginia State Bar (active - not participating)
• Ohio State Bar Association (inactive)
• District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
• United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia
• United States Tax Court

Memberships

• West Virginia Wesleyan College, Member, Board of Trustees, Chair, Governance/Trusteeship Committee, Member, Executive Committee, 2017– Present; President, Alumni Association, 1986 – 1990;  Member, President’s Advisory Council, 1999 – 2006
• Chair, Probate Law Committee, West Virginia State Bar, 2014 - 2019
• State Chair, West Virginia, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, 2015 - 2022; Business Planning Committee 2015 - Present; State Laws Committee 2017 - Present
• Charleston Estate Planning Council Board of Directors, 2011 – 2015
• Dean Search Committee, West Virginia University College of Law, 2007 - 2008
• Visiting Committee, West Virginia University College of Law, 2006 - 2016

Publications & Presentations

• Author, Chapter on “West Virginia Asset Protection Statutes,” included in Domestic Asset Protection Trusts, edited by Alexander A. Bove, Jr., published by American Bar Association, October 2021
• Presenter and Moderator, Panel on “Ethical Issues for Estate Planners,” Second Annual West Virginia Estate Planning Institute, February, 2022, West Virginia State Bar Association
• Presenter, "The New West Virginia Trust Decanting Act--Same Wine, Different Container," First Annual West Virginia Estate Planning Institute, 2020 WVU CLE
• Presenter, "Panel: Hot Topics and Role of Attorneys in Probate, Trust and Estate Administration," Estate Planning 2018, 2018 WVU CLE
• “Choice of Entity Tax Considerations,” 2018 WV Tax Institute
• “How Estate Planning Professionals Can Minimize the Possibility of Family Disputes in Estate Matters, 2018 Charleston Estate and Financial Planning Seminar
• “What’s All This Fuss about The West Virginia DAPT,” 2016 WVU CLE
• “The Use of Qualified Affidavits as Required by New WV DAPT Legislation,” 2016 Charleston Estate and Financial Planning Seminar
• “LLC tax Issues,” 2016 NBI Seminar
• “Joint Trusts—Not as Scary as They Used to Be,” 2015 WVU CLE
• “The Impact of the West Virginia Uniform Trust Code,” 2014 WVU CLE
• “Choice of Entity—LLC or Corporation,” 2014 National Business Institute
• “The Folly of Trust Irrevocability,” 2013 Charleston Estate and Financial Planning Seminar
• “Ethical Issues—Circular 230 Proposed Revisions,” 2012 West Virginia Tax Institute
• “Basics of Section 754 Election,” 2012 West Virginia Society of CPAs
• “Trust Administration after the West Virginia Uniform Trust Code,” 2012 WVU CLE
• “Duty to Inform under the West Virginia Uniform Trust Code,” 2012 Charleston Estate and Financial Planning Seminar
• “Top Things You Need to Know about the West Virginia Uniform Trust Code,” 2011 Tri-State Tax Institute
• "West Virginia Uniform Trust Code," 2011 WVU CLE
• "Revocable Living Trusts," 2010 WVU CLE on Planning for the Modest Estate
• “Form 990 – What You Need to Know,” 2008 West Virginia Tax Institute
• “Uniform Premarital Agreement Act and Cohabitation Agreements,” 2006 WVU CLE on West Virginia Estate Planning
• “Advance Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney,” 2004 Mountaineer CLE Seminar on Planning the Modest Estate
• “The Gift Tax – What You Need to Know,” 2003 Mountaineer CLE Seminar on Wills and Estates
• “Tax Issues for Business Lawyers,” 11th Annual Commercial Law Institute, November 2002, West Virginia University Continuing Legal Education
• “Tax Issues for Public Charities,” Lorman Business Institute, December 2001; March 2003
• “Tax Considerations in Buying or Selling a Business in West Virginia,” Lorman Business Institute, 2000
• “Tax and the General Practitioner,” National Business Institute, 1998
• “Taxing Bankruptcy Alternatives,” 1995 Columbus Bar Association Bankruptcy Institute
• “Approaches for Lawyers and Accountants in Evaluating Tax Shelters for Clients,” Columbus Tax Conference, 1984
• “The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981: Implication of the Estate and Gift Tax Changes Upon Estate Planning,” 11 Capital University Law Review 1, Winter, 1981