Walter T. Killmer, Jr. is a Partner in the Private Client Services Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP.
For more than thirty-five years, Walter has represented individuals, families, fiduciaries and nonprofit organizations in the areas of estate and trust planning, fiduciary administration and charitable giving. He has also advised individuals on charitable giving and nonprofit organizations on planned giving, endowment and corporate governance issues.
Before moving to Los Angeles, he practiced in New York at two large international law firms, serving at the latter as head of the trusts and estates practice for seven years. Walter’s clients include business owners, corporate executives, professionals, artists, families with dynastic wealth, charitable organizations, and executors and trustees.
In addition, Walter advises clients in the area of international estate and tax planning. In his international practice, Walter has represented non-U.S. persons seeking to invest in the U.S. or who own U.S. assets; Americans living abroad; Americans who live in the U.S. but own property in another country; and U.S. residents who are nationals of another country and may have assets in multiple jurisdictions.
Outside the office, Walter is a board member and President of The Sorel Organization, a foundation that promotes opportunities for women in classical music. He is a past Vice President of the Columbia Law School Association. He has served as board President of Housing Works, which creates safe, affordable housing opportunities for homeless and low-income individuals and families. He is active as a lay leader in the Episcopal Church and is an honorary Canon of St. John’s Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners
State Bar of California, Member, Trusts and Estates Section
New York State Bar Association, Member, Trusts and Estates Law Section
Los Angeles County Bar Association, Member, Trusts and Estates Section
Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Former Member, Trusts, Estates and Surrogate’s Court Committee
American Bar Association, Member, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
Beware of Strangers (or Family Members) Bearing Gifts: Planning and Compliance for Lifetime Gifts by Non-US Persons, San Francisco Estate Planning Council and Golden Gate University School of Law Annual Symposium, 2017
Beware of Strangers (or Family Members) Bearing Gifts: Planning and Compliance for Lifetime Gifts by Non-US Persons, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners 6th Annual Institute on Tax, Estate Planning and the Economy, 2017
What International Business Advisors Should Know About International Estate Planning, ProVisors International Business Group, Orange County, 2016
International Estate Planning, ProVisors Estate and Succession Planning Group, 2016
International Tax Planning and Estate Planning, Chinese American CPA Association, 2015
Key Financial and Estate Planning Issues: Before, During and After Divorce, Expert Presence, 2014
Essential Planning for Same-Sex Couples, Expert Presence, 2013