G.P. represents high-net-worth individuals, corporations, and privately held businesses on a variety of sensitive and complex estate and business planning matters. He works with individual clients on income and estate planning matters and facilitates the transfer of assets among family members, foundations, and charities. He represents corporate clients on diverse matters such as the purchase and sale of businesses, shareholder agreements, operating agreements, shareholder buyouts, executive compensation arrangements, and business succession planning.
Recognized as a leader in his field in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide (2018 – 2024), G.P. is a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law and a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning & Probate Law, distinctions given by the Supreme Court of South Carolina. He counsels personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries, and creditors on all phases of the estate probate and trust administration process, including:
- Ancillary administration and tax audits
- The formation of real estate ventures and tax planning
- Mergers and acquisitions;
- Business litigation
- Estate planning and probate administration
- Probate and estate litigation
- Tax controversy
Education
LL.M., Taxation, New York University School of Law, 2002
M.B.A., International Business Law, University of South Carolina, Moore School of Business, 2000
Certificate, Italian/European Business, S.D.A. Bocconi School of Management, Milan, Italy, 1999
J.D., Order of the Wig & Robe, Deans List (Fall 1997, Spring 1998), University of South Carolina School of Law, 1998
B.A., with honors, Davidson College, 1995
Professional Associations
- Estate Planning & Probate Law, Specialization Advisory Board, S.C. Supreme Court (2012-present), Chair (2015-present)
- Charleston Estate Planning Council
- Charleston Tax Council, past President
- Charleston Tax Roundtable
- Trident Technical College Foundation, Board of Trustees, Vice Chair
- South Carolina Bar Association
- Tax Law Section, Council Member (2013-present)
- Probate, Estate Planning & Trust Section
- Article 5 Section 5 Durable Powers of Attorney Revision Group
- Corporate, Banking, & Securities Section
- SC Bar Probate, Estate Planning &Trust Section
- American Bar Association
- Tax Section
- Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, Business Law Section
- Charleston County Bar Association
- Mentor, S.C. Supreme Court Lawyer Mentoring program
- Attorney to Protect Client Interests, S.C. Supreme Court
- Rotary Club of Charleston, Member and Paul Harris fellow
- Metro Exchange Club of Charleston, Member
- Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors
- Leadership Charleston, Class of 2009, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Charleston Animal Society, General Counsel and Chair of Planned Giving Committee
- Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA), General Counsel and Ways, Means and Rules Committee Member
- Coastal Community Foundation, Chair, Professional Advisory Group, Development and Stewardship Committee
- Social Venture Partners (Charleston), Board Member/Partner
- Reading Partners (Charleston), Board Member
- Fellow, The Riley Institute at Furman, S.C. Diversity Leadership, Low Country Class IX
- World Trade Center Charleston, Committee Member
- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Taxation Committee and Small Business Committee
- Trident United Way, Community Investment Review Team (Cl RT), Member
- Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Development Committee Member
- Porter-Gaud Foundation, Technical Advisor Group Member
- The ALS Association, South Carolina Chapter, Inc., former Board of Directors
- Charleston Stage Company, former Board Member
Honors
- AV® Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell
- Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law, 2019 – 2024, Tax Law, 2017 – 2024, Trusts and Estates, 2018 – 2024
- Best Lawyers “Charleston Tax Law Lawyer of the Year,” 2024
- South Carolina Legal Elite, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
- 2023 South Carolina Leadership in Law Award Honoree
- Recognized as a “Thought Leader”, Private Client Lexology Legal Influencers, 2023
- Recognized as a “Leader in his Field”, Private Wealth Law Chambers High Net Worth Guide, 2018 – 2024
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)
- Fellow, American College of Tax Counsel
- Certified Specialist in Taxation Law, South Carolina Supreme Court
- Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law, South Carolina Supreme Court
- Certified Financial Planner
- McNeill Smith Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year, 2015
- Charleston Regional Business Journal, “40 Leaders Under Forty,” 2013
- CALI Award, Mass Tort Litigation
- Legal Writing Instructor, U.S.C. School of Law
- Research Assistant, Prof. F. Patrick Hubbard, U.S.C. School of Law
Representative Matters
- Designed numerous estate and business succession plans for closely held business owners involving business interests valued in excess of $100 million, utilizing tax-efficient planning arrangements, including intentionally defective grantor-retained annuity trusts (IDGTs), sales to grantor trusts, charitable lead trusts, private foundations, various life insurance plans, defined value clauses, qualified personal residence trusts, family limited partnerships, generation-skipping trusts, and other appropriate arrangements
- Structured business entities, buy-sell agreements, operating agreements, partnership agreements, and various entity governance arrangements among family members and nonfamily members to facilitate business planning operational goals and to coordinate business succession planning with personal estate planning of the business owners
- Represented executors and trustees of multigenerational trusts with respect to fiduciary and investment issues, including the use of private settlement agreements and decanting to achieve certain family goals, and the formation and subsequent restructuring of family LLCs designed to coordinate investment management among various family trusts
- Represented purchasers and sellers in merger and acquisition transactions with a particular emphasis on income tax and estate tax savings, with transactions ranging from small-to-medium-sized purchase value amounts to others in excess of $100 million
- Represented trustees, executors, and beneficiaries in probate and trust litigation matters involving will and trust contests and construction disputes before the probate court, circuit court, and U.S. District Court
- Represented shareholders, partners, owners, and officers in business litigation matters involving shareholder disputes, breaches of fiduciary duty, and forced buyouts
- Advocated on behalf of taxpayers under IRS audit and before the U.S. Tax Court in matters involving estate and gift tax audits, income tax liabilities, and trust fund penalties