Jenny Hill Bratt

Jenny Hill Bratt is a partner in the Tax and Estate Planning Practice Group in the firm's San Diego (Del Mar) office. 

Areas of Practice

Her practice is focused on US and international estate and income tax planning, trusts and estates administration, family and closely-held business planning and charitable planning and exempt organizations. 
 
She advises US individuals who own foreign assets on the manner in which such assets should be structured as well as their US tax compliance obligations. She routinely employs transfer tax mitigation techniques such as intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and family limited partnerships, among others. 
 
Jenny regularly advises clients with the creation and administration of closely-held family businesses, from choice of entity issues, to the design and implementation of limited partnerships and limited liability companies, structuring tax-efficient wealth transfers and addressing income tax solutions arising from investments and operating businesses. 

She also advises clients in planning and implementing charitable gifts including structuring such gifts through charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts. She can also assist clients with the formation of private foundations and private operating foundations and advise such clients on issues that arise in the administration of such entities.

Jenny is a fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and is certified as a specialist in estate planning, trust, and probate law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. She served on the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association, and was involved in the passing of the California Uniform Trust Decanting Act effective January 1, 2019. 
 
Jenny has been ranked on Legal Week's Private Client Global Elite "Ones to Watch" lists since 2019.

Honors

Private Client Global Elite "Ones to Watch," Legal Week, 2019-2023

Best Lawyers, 2020-2022

Articles

Speaking Engagements

• Speaker, “Trust Protectors: Guardians of the (Trust) Galaxy,” San Diego Estate Planning Council, January 16, 2024
• Speaker, “2023 Annual Update on New Cases and Legislation (Trusts and Estates),” San Diego County Bar Association, January 8, 2024
• Speaker, “What Planners and Litigators Need to Know for 2024,” North County Estate Planning Council, January 2, 2024
• Co-Presenter, "EB4 Guardians of The (Trust) Galaxy: Trust Protectors Defined, Explained and Explored," Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), June 2, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "Trust Protectors," Independent Trustee Alliance (ITA) Annual Conference, May 11, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "Trust Protectors," California Lawyers Association, April 4, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "Trust Protectors," Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC) , January 11, 2023
• Co-Presenter, "Charitable Planning," North County Estate Planning Council, December 6, 2022
• Co-Presenter, "Taxes, Trusts and Tenders: What you need to know about your money to prepare for liquidity," TechGC Global Summit, November 4, 2021
• Co-Presenter, "Qualified Small Business Stock," The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Virtual Fall Meeting, October 9, 2021
• Co-Presenter, "'Checklist 2020: Planning for any outcome," Withersworldwide webinar, October 6, 2020
• Co-Presenter, "Looking Ahead: The power of Private Placement Life Insurance (PPLI)," Withersworldwide webinar, June 29, 2020
• Co-Presenter, "'Looking Ahead: Top 5 estate planning techniques during these uncertain times," Withersworldwide webinar, June 15, 2020
• Co-Presenter, "To Decant or Not to Decant," Orange County Bar Association, March 11, 2020
• Co-Presenter, "Decanting Trusts: How to Make it Work," ALI CLE audio webcast, January 29, 2020 
• Co-Presenter, "To Decant or Not to Decant," San Francisco Estate Planning Council, January 22, 2020
• Co-Presenter, "To Decant or Not to Decant," USC Trust and Estate Conference, Los Angeles, California, November 22, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "A Review and Analysis of the California Trust Decanting Act," 39th Annual Tax & Estate Planning Forum, San Diego, October 11, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "Decanting in California," Orange Country Estate Planning Council, September 24, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "Charitable Gifts of Real Estate," North County Estate Planning Council, September 3, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "Decanting in California," North County Bar Association, August 14, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "New California Uniform Decanting Act," STEP San Diego, April 16, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "Decanting in California," Probate Attorneys of San Diego, February 28, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "The New California Legislation on Decanting," North County Estate Planning Council, February 5, 2019
• Co-Presenter, "Wine Not? California's New Decanting Act," First American Trust, February 5, 2019 and January 31, 2019

Events

Memberships

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Fellow 

San Diego Jewish Community Foundation Professional Advisor Counsel (2013 - Present) 

San Diego County Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Section and Probate Law Section 

American Bar Association, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and Tax Section 

State Bar of California, Trusts and Estates Section and Tax Section 

State Bar of New York 

State Bar of Connecticut 

Rancho Santa Fe Literary Society 

Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association Vice-Chair, Estate Planning Subcommittee (2013 - 2019) 

California Trusts and Estates Quarterly Co-Editor in Chief (2017-2018) 

California Trusts and Estates Quarterly Executive Editor (2016-2017) 

Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego Board of Directors (2011- 2017) 

Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego Executive Committee (2013 - 2015) 

Congregation Beth Israel of San Diego Development Committee (2014 - 2015) - Former Chair 

Anti-Defamation League Civil Rights Committee - San Diego Chapter (2014) 

Anti-Defamation League Glass Leadership Program - San Diego Chapter (2012 - 2013) 

American Bar Association Task Force which Submitted Comments to the IRS on Form 8939 (Allocation of Increase in Basis for Property Acquired from a Decedent), 2011