Director – Trust & Estate
Locations: Gaithersburg, MD
Work Model: Hybrid
About the Opportunity
An independent mid-size public accounting and advisory firm is seeking a Director to join its growing Trust & Estate practice. This is an outstanding opportunity for an experienced Trust & Estate professional who enjoys serving as a trusted advisor to high-net-worth individuals, families, trustees, executors, and their professional advisors while helping shape the continued growth of a well-established practice.
This role offers a balanced mix of sophisticated technical planning, client relationship management, practice leadership, and business development. You'll work alongside firm leadership, attorneys, wealth advisors, family offices, and other specialists to deliver customized tax planning strategies for complex estates, trusts, and multigenerational wealth structures.
The Role
As a Director, you will provide technical leadership while overseeing complex fiduciary, estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax engagements. In addition to advising clients on sophisticated planning strategies, you'll mentor professionals, strengthen referral relationships, and contribute to the continued expansion of the Trust & Estate practice.
Responsibilities include:
- Serve as a trusted advisor to high-net-worth individuals, families, trustees, and executors.
- Lead advanced estate, gift, trust, and wealth transfer planning engagements.
- Advise clients on sophisticated planning strategies, including GRATs, IDGTs, SLATs, charitable planning, succession planning, and generation-skipping transfer planning.
- Review complex fiduciary, estate, and gift tax returns, including Forms 1041, 706, and 709.
- Interpret federal, state, and local tax laws affecting trusts, estates, and fiduciaries.
- Partner with attorneys, wealth advisors, investment professionals, and family offices to deliver integrated planning solutions.
- Mentor Managers and staff while providing technical guidance and professional development.
- Oversee engagement planning, staffing, budgeting, workflow, and quality control.
- Identify opportunities to expand client relationships and grow the Trust & Estate practice.
- Collaborate with firm leadership on business development initiatives, proposals, and cross-selling opportunities.
- Monitor legislative and regulatory developments impacting Trust & Estate taxation and communicate planning opportunities to clients and internal teams.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting or related field.
- Active CPA or EA required.
- MST, JD, or LLM in Taxation preferred.
- 10+ years of progressive public accounting experience with significant Trust & Estate tax specialization.
- Deep technical expertise in fiduciary income tax, estate tax, gift tax, and generation-skipping transfer taxation.
- Experience advising high-net-worth individuals, families, trusts, estates, and complex wealth structures.
- Strong experience reviewing complex fiduciary and estate tax returns.
- Proven ability to build and maintain trusted client relationships.
- Experience mentoring professionals and leading engagement teams.
- Business development and practice growth experience is highly desirable.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with executive-level presence.
Why Consider This Opportunity
- Leadership role within an established and growing Trust & Estate practice.
- Opportunity to work on sophisticated estate and wealth transfer planning matters.
- High-net-worth client base with complex planning needs.
- Significant client-facing advisory responsibilities.
- Opportunity to influence practice strategy and long-term growth.
- Collaborative environment working alongside attorneys, wealth advisors, and family offices.
- Hybrid work schedule offering flexibility while maintaining team collaboration.
- Strong platform for continued leadership and career advancement.
Ideal Candidate Profile
This opportunity is well suited for an experienced Trust & Estate professional ready to step into a Director role or an established Director seeking greater leadership responsibility within a growing practice. The ideal candidate enjoys solving complex planning issues, developing client relationships, mentoring future leaders, and helping build a premier Trust & Estate practice.
Work Authorization: Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without current or future visa sponsorship.
Spartan Placements is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender