As the principal of her own law practice, Ms. Arnett has served as legal counsel for an affluent client base, including directors of government agencies, government contractor businesses, closely-held businesses, executives, investors, and professionals. Her skill for developing personal, long-term relationships with her clients has allowed Ms. Arnett to anticipate their needs and develop solutions that achieve their objectives. Ms. Arnett is experienced in counseling her client base on a wide range of sophisticated matters, including domestic and international estate, trust and tax planning and administration, multijurisdictional probate, family wealth administration and preservation, tax compliance, including non-profits and private foundations, OVDP representation, expatriation and pre-immigration planning, corporate business planning, business succession planning and other business transactions and contracts.
Ms. Arnett has administered and managed many multi-million dollar estates and trusts, including multi-jurisdictional estates and trusts, and those with international holdings. The focus of her estate practice includes the preparation of wills, trusts, powers of attorney and medical directive preparation. Ms. Arnett’s practice in estate planning has entailed, inter alia, the drafting and implementation of a variety of sophisticated trusts, including Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Dynasty Trusts, Generation Skipping Trusts, Qualified Domestic Order Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Charitable Remainder and Charitable Lead Trusts.
As a part of the administration of these estates and trusts, Ms. Arnett has managed and resolved disputes involving beneficiaries, contingent beneficiaries and trustees and estate tax controversies.
Ms. Arnett’s CPA licensure has enabled her to coordinate and review complex Federal and State Estate Tax Returns, including Generation Skipping returns, Fiduciary, Intangible and Gift tax returns.
In conjunction with her legal services, she has also prepared pre-marital agreements and separation agreements, handled real estate transactions and provided business related legal advice.
TERESA (BT) ARNETT, Esquire
Current Employment Position(s):
BT Arnett Law, Principal and Attorney 1996 to Present.
Virginia State Bar
Virginia Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Tax Court
Maryland State Bar Association - Estate & Trust Section and Taxation Section
Bar Association of the District of Columbia - Tax and Probate Law Sections
The West Virginia State Bar
West Virginia Supreme Court
U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia; Superior Court for the District of Columbia
U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit; United States Court of Appeals; Maryland Ct. of Appeals
Certified Public Accountant Licensure
Bar Assn. of Montgomery County MD-Estate & Trust Law Section Education:
Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C. -LL.M. Master of Laws in Taxation; LL.M. Master of Laws International Credits 1994-1996
In addition, Ms. Arnett has served as Trustee for a select number of Trusts and has overseen trust funding issues for her clients, including Trust funding issues for foreign outbound and inbound transactions.
Ms. Arnett’s business law practice has included serving as general counsel for a number of closely-held corporations. She has assisted with choices of entity, S elections, established corporations, pass-through entities, including limited liability companies, limited partnerships, business trusts, tax-exempt corporations, and private foundations. Ms. Arnett has provided her tax exempt and private foundation clients with a multitude of services, including securing exempt status, corporate governance, tax and compliance advice for their legacy and nonprofit interests. She negotiated and drafted various contracts to meet the needs of these companies and prepared minutes, bylaws, stock subscription agreements, Employee Stock Purchase Plans, buy-sell agreements, executive employment agreements, articles of merger, business plan documents, licensing agreements, sub-licensing, and cross licensing agreements.
While practicing law, Ms. Arnett worked with a tax-exempt organization along with O'Connor & Hannah, of Washington, DC before the US Supreme Court.
Concurrent with Ms. Arnett's practice of law, she authored a number of tax publications including: Teresa Arnett, "State Treatment of Net Operating Losses in the Affiliated Corporate Group and Non-affiliated Corporate Context" 1 (1997); Arnett, "State and Federal NOLD Differences Following Changes in Ownership," (Pt. 1) 10 J St. Tax'n No. 4, 71(1992); and Arnett, "State and Federal NOLD Differences Following Changes in Ownership," (Pt. 2) 11 J St. Tax'n No. 1,1(1992). Ms. Arnett also wrote and edited the prototype net operating loss portfolio for the Bloomberg/Bureau of National Affairs/Tax Management in Washington, DC.
While in law school, she contributed to Alagia, "A Proper Recognition of the Indispensable Role of the American Farmer-Recommendations of the National Commission on Agricultural Trade and Export Policy," 34 S.D.L. Rev. 271 (1989). Her contribution was honored.
Ms. Arnett has a enjoyed lecturing, teaching, and public speaking over the years while presenting estate planning, tax and business seminars each year for professional organizations and during a managerial internship with KPMG, LLP, National Tax Office, in Washington, D C and during her employment with a US Treasury contractor, The MITRE Corporation, in McLean, Virginia.