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BEPC names Richard P. Breed, III, Esquire its 2012 Estate Planner of the Year

The Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC) has selected Richard P. Breed, III, Esquire as its 2012 Estate Planner of the Year in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the estate planning profession. This award represents the highest honor that BEPC can bestow upon a member. Mr. Breed will be honored at the association’s annual Estate Planner of the Year dinner to be held in Boston on May 24, 2012, at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Mr. Breed is a founding partner of Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers, PC in Boston. Established in 1991, Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers is a full service law firm, advising entrepreneurs, businesses, individuals and families throughout New England. The firm offers expertise in corporate law, employment matters, mergers and acquisitions, litigation and dispute resolution, estate planning and business succession, taxation, real estate, bankruptcy and municipal law. The prestigious directory Best Lawyers® has ranked Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers among the top Boston law firms in the areas of Trusts & Estates, Environmental, Real Estate, and Tax Law. In addition, Mr. Breed and his partners carry the highest professional rating in the national Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Reflecting its expertise and strength in estate planning, Tarlow Breed Hart & Rodgers is only the second law firm honored to have two partners selected an Estate Planner of the Year by BEPC . Edward Tarlow was recognized by BEPC in 2003.

For over three decades, Mr. Breed has been working with wealthy families to help them preserve and protect their beneficiaries’ inheritance from excessive transfer taxes and from possible interference by third parties, including creditors and divorcing spouses. His expertise includes business succession planning for owners of privately-held enterprises. Mr. Breed also advises business enterprises at all stages of their development, including organizational, operational, and merger and acquisition issues. He has acted as counsel to various fiduciaries and beneficiaries in matters of trust and estate administration, and has testified as an expert witness regarding trust and estate matters.

Mr. Breed has been an active member of the Boston Estate Planning Council for almost thirty years. In addition to serving as President in 1995, he chaired numerous committees, served on the Executive Committee, and most recently was a member of the Nominating Committee.

The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils designated Mr. Breed an Accredited Estate Planner. Every year since 2004 he has been named a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by Boston Magazine, and was named to the 2011 and 2012 editions of "Best Lawyers in America” in the specialty of Trusts and Estates. Mr. Breed is also a Member of the Estate Planning Curriculum Committee of Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. In addition, he is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Fiduciary Trust Company, Boston, where he also serves on the Audit Committee.

Mr. Breed lectures frequently and has published widely on topics of importance to the estate planning community. His articles have appeared in Private Wealth magazine, Estate Planning magazine, The Massachusetts Life Underwriter and the Boston Business Journal. Mr. Breed has been a member of the faculty on over a dozen estate planning programs given by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Inc. and taught at other professional seminars. In addition, he has served as an Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University School of Law and New England School of Law.

Mr. Breed has been involved with numerous civic and charitable organizations, including the Judge Baker Children’s Center in Boston and the Northeast Arc in Danvers. He provides pro bono estate planning services for clients of the Aids Action Committee. In addition, he serves on the Board of Governors of the Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead.

Mr. Breed is a graduate of Bowdoin College, received his J.D. cum laude from Suffolk University Law School and his LL.M. in Taxation from Boston University Law School.