Kyle Gee

Biography

An elected Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Kyle has years of experience counseling multi-generational families, business owners, fiduciaries, entities, family offices and beneficiaries regarding:

• Administration of estates and trusts (including tax compliance, selection of investment counsel, discretionary distributions and fiduciary accountings)
• Asset protection
• Business succession
• Charitable giving (including private foundations, donor-advised funds, pledge agreements and split-interest trusts)
• Estate, Gift and GST tax planning (including use of available lifetime exemptions, annual exclusions, freeze techniques, gifts and sales to defective grantor trusts and portability)
• Income tax planning (including grantor trusts and basis planning)
• Modification of irrevocable trusts (including private settlement agreements, decanting and judicial modifications)
• Post-mortem planning (including disclaimers and tax elections)
• Preparation of estate planning instruments (including grantor trusts, dynasty trusts, SLATs, GRATs, CLATs, IDGTs, ILITs and core revocable documents)
• Preparation of tax returns (including IRS Forms 706, 709, 1040 and 1041)
• Probate Court proceedings (including probate and guardianship), litigation (including will construction, declaratory judgment and adversarial actions) and dispute resolution
• Retirement planning

Kyle’s representation extends from those in wealth building phases to ultra-high net worth relationships. He is licensed in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In private practice, Kyle draws upon his experiences as a law clerk to a Probate Court judge to help avoid and resolve disputes.

Forward thinking on technology matters, Kyle is a frequent lecturer and shapes legislation through his active participation on legal associations. 

Clients appreciate Kyle’s responsiveness, attention to detail, efficiency, and his ability to explain and diagram complex topics simply. One client regarded him as “… a blessing to families with [his] intelligence, nature and calming demeanor.” Another client wrote, “He has been great at guiding me through complex estate planning structures.”

Education

• University of Toledo College of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2008; Law Review, Assistant Executive Editor
• Brigham Young University, B.A., 2005

Admissions & Associations

• State of Ohio (2009)
• State of New Jersey (2008)
• State of Pennsylvania (2008)
• American Bar Association, Member
  • Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
  • Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law (EPTPL) Section
  • EPTPL Section Council 2017 to present
  • Electronic Wills Committee 2017 to present
  • Special Legislative Task Force 2020 to present
  • Treasurer, EPTPL Section Council
  • Chair, EPTPL Section Committee on UEEPDA
  • Chair, The Marvin R. Pliskin Ohio Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Institute 2022
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
  • Estate Planning and Probate Section
• Pennsylvania State Bar Association, Member
  • Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
• Probate Law Journal of Ohio (PLJO), Editorial Advisory Board
• Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, Member
• J. Reuben Clark Law Society, Cleveland Chapter, Member
• The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Fellow

Awards & Honors

• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2023 for Practice Areas:
  • Trusts and Estates

• Selected to the Ohio Super Lawyers® list: 2024-present

Community Activities

• Strongsville Education Foundation, Trustee
• Community Recreational Soccer League, Coach
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Advisory Committee, Gift Planning Council of Philanthropies

Articles & Presentations

• Don’t Overlook Annual Exclusion Gifting Benefits for Receivers and Givers, Crain's Cleveland Business, Wealth Management (November 2024)

• Signing Non-Testamentary Documents Electronically-OSBA Committee Considering the UEEPD Act, Probate Law Journal of Ohio (Sept./Oct. 2023)

• The Ohio Trust Code: Essential Provisions and Reference Guide for Probate Judges, Ohio Association of Probate Judges, Winter 2022 Conference, Columbus, Ohio (Feb. 11, 2022) 

• Legislative Testimony of Kyle Gee on H.B. 339 to Ohio General Assembly’s House Civil Justice Committee on Oct. 12, 2021, Probate Law Journal of Ohio (Nov./Dec. 2021) 

• The Law of Witnesses in the Day of Remote Online Notarization, Philanthropies, Planned Giving Council Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah (Nov. 18-19, 2021) 

• Signing Planning Documents in 2021’s Great Wealth Transfer (What the law is and what the law might become), Stark County, Ohio Bar Association, 2021 Estate Planning and Elder Law Symposium, Live Interactive Webinar (May 20, 2021) 

• Revisiting “Electronic Wills” and Execution Formalities in Ohio Five Years Later, The Marvin R. Pliskin Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Institute, Ohio State Bar Association, Live Webinar (Sept. 11, 2020)

• Controversial Ohio H.B. 692: Pushed into the Swirling Waters of “Physical Presence,” “Conscious Presence,” and “Electronic Presence”, Probate Law Journal of Ohio (Sept./Oct. 2020)

• Considerations as the “Electronic Wills” Movement Gains Momentum, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Hot Topics Seminar, Interactive Webinar, Cleveland, Ohio (July 16, 2020)

• Electronic Wills: Recent Developments, State Legislation, the New Uniform Electronic Wills Act, and More, American Law Institute, Interactive National Audio Webcast, Kyle Gee and Bruce Stone (Apr. 20, 2020) 

• ‘Electronic Wills’ and the New Uniform Electronic Wills Act, Bloomberg Tax Management Estates, Gifts, and Trusts Journal, 45 EGTJ 02 (BNA, Mar. 5, 2020) 

• Accounting for Lawyers, The Basics and Beyond, American Law Institute, Live Webcast from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Kyle Gee, Terry Lloyd, Dr. Kurt H. Gee (Feb. 4, 2020 with two encore replays) 

• The New Uniform Electronic Wills Act, Probate Law Journal of Ohio (Nov./Dec. 2019) 

• The Electronic Wills Movement: Haman’s Plot or “Meant for Such a Time as This?” Philanthropies, Planned Giving Council Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah (Nov. 14-15, 2019) 

• “Electronic Wills” and the Scout Motto – Be Prepared, 14^th Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Boy Scouts of America, Lake Erie Council, Cleveland, Ohio (Sept. 24, 2019) 

• Ohio Electronic Wills, Probate Law Journal of Ohio, Kyle Gee and Robert M. Brucken (Mar./Apr. 2019)

• Preparing for The New Frontier: e-Wills and e-Notarization, Ohio State Bar Association, 2018 Legal Forum, Columbus, Ohio, Kyle Gee and Lisa Babish Forbes (Aug. 24, 2018)

• “Siri, can you prepare a codicil to my will? Tomorrow’s Estate Planning is Here Today! Purposeful Planning Institute: Fusion Collaboration, Denver, Colorado, Kyle Gee and David M. Lenz (July 24, 2018)

• Perspectives from the Uniform Law Commission’s Electronic Wills Drafting Committee Meetings, American Bar Association, Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section, National Audio Teleconference (Apr. 25, 2018)

• Digital Assets and Electronic Wills, The Cleveland Estate Planning Institute, Cleveland, Ohio, Kyle Gee and David M. Lenz (Oct. 25, 2017 and Jan. 25, 2018) 

• The “Electronic Wills” Revolution: An Overview of Nevada’s New Statute, the Uniform Law Commission’s Work, and Other Recent Developments, Probate Law Journal of Ohio (Mar./Apr. 2018) 

• Technology Issues for the Estate Planning Practitioner, Lorain County, Ohio Bar Association (Fall 2016 Probate Seminar) 

• Beyond Castro’s Tablet Will: Exploring Electronic Will Cases Around the World and Re-Visiting Ohio’s Harmless Error Statute, Probate Law Journal of Ohio (Mar./Apr. 2016) 

• Electronic Wills and the Future: When Today’s Techie Youth Become Tomorrow’s Testators, The Marvin R. Pliskin Advanced Probate and Estate Planning Institute, Ohio State Bar Association, Columbus, Ohio (Sept. 18, 2015) 

• Electronic Wills at our Fingertips: Should They be Admitted to Probate?  Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal (Dec. 2013)

• 2013 Ohio Legislative and Case Law Update: A Tour, 40^th Annual Estate Planning Institute, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (Oct. 25, 2013)

• Don’t Delay During this Season of Giving:  This is the Year to Take Advantage of Opportunities, Crain’s Cleveland Business, E-17 (Nov. 2012)

• DaimlerChrysler Corp. v. Cuno – Denying State Taxpayers Standing in Federal Court: Are Municipal Taxpayers Next? 38 U. Tol. L. Rev. 1241 (2007)