Jeffrey M. Zitron (“Jeff”) is a native of Memphis, Tennessee, where he graduated from Christian Brothers High School. Growing up in Memphis, Jeff worked summers for a family business, a chain of clothing stores, and later held summer jobs as a probation officer and clerk in the General Sessions Court processing garnishments.
Jeff is a 1986 graduate of Emory University School of Law and received his undergraduate degrees in Finance from the Wharton School of Business, and in Economics from the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeff is a partner in the law firm of Hendrick, Rascoe, Zitron & Long, LLC, and has practiced law in the greater Atlanta area for more than 28 years since graduating from Emory University School of Law. He draws on his diverse experiences to assist closely held businesses, business owners and affluent families in a variety of legal areas.
Jeff’s practice focuses on estate planning for high net worth individuals, business owners and families. He provides comprehensive estate planning services and has an extensive will, trust and probate practice. He specializes in finding practical legal solutions for intra-generational wealth transfers, asset protection, business succession planning and estate, gift and generation skipping tax planning. Jeff represents individuals on the planning side, as well as Executors and Trustees in connection with the administration of estates and trusts. Jeff frequently serves as advisor to family law attorneys and is experienced in estate planning for blended families.
Among his many professional accomplishments, Jeff is AV Preeminent peer review rated, the highest attainable rating through Martindale-Hubbell. He is a multi-year recipient of the “Super Lawyers” award for Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys and Georgia Trend magazine's "Legal Elite" award in the areas of Taxes, Estates and Trusts.
Jeff was a co-founder and chair of the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Atlanta Bar Association. His professional memberships include the Fiduciary Law Section of State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta. Jeff has run pro bono estate planning clinics to provide Wills and Powers of Attorney for officers of the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs police departments, but of all his civic involvement, Jeff is most proud of his service on the Board of Hands On Atlanta, and the years that he chaired the volunteer event: “Hands On Atlanta Day.”
Jeff lives in Sandy Springs with his wife, Nicole K. Zitron, with whom he has three children, Barak, Isabella and Juliana, and two Bouvier de Flandres, Stella and Mac. He loves ethnic food of all varieties, and when not at work, can often be found trail running at the Chattahoochee River, working out with his “BAM” friends or at home listening to music or watching movies with whoever will join him.
Personal
Born: Memphis, Tennessee, 1961
Wife: Nicole K. Zitron
Children: Barak, Isabella and Juliana
Education
Emory University School of Law, J.D. 1986
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business, B.S.E. – Finance 1983
University of Pennsylvania, College of Arts and Sciences, B.A. – Economics 1983
Honors & Recognition
AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell (Peer rated the highest level of professional excellence)
Multi-year winner of Super Lawyers Award for Estate Planning & Probate Attorneys
Multi-year winner of Georgia Trend Legal Elite for attorneys in the areas of Taxes, Estates and Trusts
Outstanding Young People of Atlanta, 1997
Select Presentations and Publications
UBS Financial Services, Inc., “Estate Planning Bootcamp,” November 5, 2014 & December 16, 2014
Primerica, “Primerica Ownership Program: Estate Planning Bootcamp,” September 3, 2014
UBS 2014 Family Forum, “Wills of the Rich and Famous: Lessons Learned from their Estate Planning,” June 27, 2014
Decatur-Dekalb Estate Planning Council, “Estate Planning for Same Sex Couples,” April 9, 2014
23rd Annual Georgia Bar Media & Judiciary Conference, “Georgia and the Sexual Legal Revolution: Gaining Ground or Losing Pace?” February 22, 2014, Panelist
UBS 2012 Family Forum, “Wills of the Rich and Famous – What We Can Learn From Their Estate Planning,” June 15, 2012
Bennett Thrasher, LLP, “The $5M Gift Tax Exemption Ends in 2012 – What will you advise your clients to do?” December 1, 2011
UBS Financial Services, Inc., “Transfer Tax Provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 and Planning Strategies,” May 18, 2011
The Epstein School, “How to Create a Jewish Legacy,” May 17, 2011
UBS 2010 Family Forum, “Estate Planning Lessons from the Godfather of Soul and the King of Pop,” June 11, 2010
Menden, Freiman & Zitron, LLP, Quarterly Educational Workshop, “2010 Estate Tax Law – Repeal of the Estate Tax and Planning in an Uncertain Environment,” April 29, 2010
State Farm Insurance Company, “Estate Planning Lessons Learned from the Godfather of Soul and the King of Pop,” November 6, 2009
Atlanta Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Section, “Covering Your Assets: The Rules & Tools of Asset Protection in Georgia,” October 14, 2009
UBS 2009 Family Forum, “Lessons from the Estate Plans of James Brown and Anna Nicole Smith,” June 11, 2009
Menden, Freiman & Zitron, LLP, Quarterly Educational Workshop, “The Upside of the Down Market: Tough Times Guide to Estate Planning,” October 30, 2008
Decatur-DeKalb County Estate Planning Council, “Covering Your Assets: The Rules & Tools of Asset Protection in Georgia,” September 10, 2008
NFL Players Association, 2008 Financial Advisors Conference, “NFL Players – Smart Planning for Death, Divorce & Lawsuits!” May 9, 2008
Morgan Stanley, “The Zero Estate Tax Estate Plan – Basic Trust and Estate Planning Plus Family Gifting and Charitable Trust Planning,” August 29, 2007
Menden, Freiman & Zitron, LLP, Quarterly Educational Workshop, “Living Trusts – The Porsche of Estate Plans,” June 13, 2007
UBS Financial Services, Inc., “Estate Planning with Retirement Assets,” January 24, 2007
SunTrust Bank, Medical Specialty Group, “Asset Protection Developments in Georgia – Be the Third Pig,” October 6, 2006
UBS Financial Services, Inc., “2006 Tax Law Changes – What Passed, What Didn’t and What’s Still in the Works,” November 8, 2006
Phoenix Life, “Asset Protection Developments in Georgia – Be the Third Pig,” October 31, 2006
Atlanta Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Section, "Asset Protection Planning," June 8, 2005
Emory University, Center for Lifelong Learning, "Essential Estate Planning Strategies," May 7, 2005
Institute of Continuing Legal Education in Georgia, 50th Annual Estate Planning Institute, "Asset Protection Planning," February 19, 2005
Allstate, “Life Insurance in the Estate Plan: Myths, Mistakes, Mysteries and Methods,” June 2, 2004.
The Community Foundation of Northeast Georgia, “Covering your Assets: The Rules and Tools of Asset Protection Planning in Georgia,” February 26, 2004.
National Business Institute, “How To Draft Wills And Trusts In Georgia,” presenting “Basic Tax Considerations - What You Need to Know in Order to Choose the Appropriate Plan, Ethics and Estate Planning and Health Care Planning as Part of the Estate Plan," December 9, 2003.
National Business Institute, “How to Protect Assets During Life and Avoid Estate Tax at Death in Georgia,” presenting “The Use of Family Limited Partnerships in Estate Planning” and “Basics of the Transfer (Estate or Gift) Tax,” August 25, 2003.
Homrich & Berg, Inc., “Rules and Tools of Asset Protection in Georgia,” July 31, 2003.
Emory Academy for Retired Professionals, “Estate Planning for Retired Professionals,” July 22, 2003
UBS Paine Webber, “The Importance of IRA Beneficiary Designations,” July 1, 2003.
Foresters, "Life Insurance in the Estate Plan: Myths, Mistakes, Mysteries & Methods," June 17, 2003
Atlanta Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Section, “Engagement Letters: Burning Issues & Sample Forms for Estate and Trust Attorneys,” June 11, 2003.
Foresters, "Estate Planning Boot Camp: Basics and Beyond," March 18, 2003
National Business Institute, “How To Draft Wills And Trusts In Georgia,” presenting “Basic Tax Considerations - What You Need to Know in Order to Choose the Appropriate Plan,” “Ethics and Estate Planning” and AHealth Care Planning as Part of the Estate Plan,” December 19, 2002.
The Georgia Society of CPAs, Georgia Tax Forum, "Tools and Rules to Protect the Family Jewels: Asset Protection with Trusts," November 1, 2002
State Farm, Georgia & South Carolina Agent's University, "Estate Planning: The Basics and Beyond," October 2-4, 2002
Half Moon LLC, “Georgia Probate and Estate Planning Skills for Paralegals,” January 24, 2002
North Atlanta Tax Council, "Asset Protection Planning in the Context of Divorce," January 18, 2002
National Business Institute, "Overview of Corporate Buy-Sell Agreements," November 10, 2000
MONY Group, "Because Retirement Just Isn't What It Used To Be," November 9, 2000
Jefferson-Pilot Premier Partners, "Life Insurance in the Estate Plan: Myths, Mistakes, Mysteries and Methods," November 1999
North Atlanta Tax Council, "The Case for Alaska and Delaware Trusts," February 1999
Cherokee Area Estate Planning Council, "Family Limited Partnerships: The Gift That Keeps Giving," October 1998
Atlanta Bar Association, Estate Planning and Probate Section, “New Estate Planning Opportunities for Georgians using Alaska Trusts,” April 1998
Cobb County Estate Planning Council, Inc., “New Estate Planning Opportunities for Georgians using Alaska Trusts,” February 1998
Half Moon LLC, “Estate Planning Skills for Paralegals,” January 1998
Dean Witter, Estate Planning Seminar, August 1997
State Bar of Georgia, Fiduciary Law Institute, “Asset Protection as a Component of Estate Planning,” July 1997
State Farm Life Insurance Company, “Estate Planning, the Tools, the Rules & Keeping the Family Jewels,” August 1996
Merrill Lynch, "Personal Estate Planning & Living Trusts," December 1995
Georgia Association of Public Accountants, "The Most Common Estate Planning Questions," November 1995
Merrill Lynch, Continuing Education Series for CPAs, "Estate Planning Issues," October 1995
State Farm Life Insurance Company, Continuing Education Series, “Wills, Estate Taxes and the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust,” August 1995
State Farm Life Insurance Company, Checkpoint Conference, “Advanced Estate Planning with Life Insurance,” August 1994
The Layman’s Lawyer, WPBA, Atlanta, GA – “The Business Person’s Survival Guide: Tax Planning for Small Businesses,” August 1992
Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance, “Estate Planning with Life Insurance,” November 1990