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With 17 offices, from New York to Los Angeles and Seattle to Orlando, we live and work in communities all over the U.S., collaborating across locations, disciplines and even borders. Our experienced, highly ranked lawyers serve businesses wherever they are and wherever they want to go.

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Am Law 100 firm with practices in Business, Digital Assets and Data Management, Intellectual Property, Labor & Employment, Litigation and Tax.

Home | BakerHostetler

How Politics May Impact IP Policy in the Next Four Years

Data Counsel

FedRAMP Begins to Implement Its Vision: Introducing the Agile Delivery Pilot, Developer’s Hub and Knowledge Management System

Carl Hittinger Comments on Antitrust Trial Against Google

Teresa Goody Guillén Comments on SEC Continuing to Examine and Enforce Private Fund Advisors’ Actions

Mike&nbsp;is&nbsp;co-author of Chapter 42 of the Colorado Estate Planning Handbook on the Special Valuation Rules of Sections 2701-2704 of the Internal Revenue Code and is a frequent speaker on estate planning topics at continuing legal and professional education programs for attorneys and CPAs.&nbsp;

core/freeform

J.D., The University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, 1995

B.S., Nebraska Wesleyan University, 1992

<ul>
<li>Chambers HNW: Private Wealth Law in Colorado (2017 to 2024)</li>
<li><em>The Best Lawyers in America</em>® (2010 to present)
<ul>
<li>Colorado: Trusts and Estates</li>
<li>Colorado: Tax Law</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Martindale-Hubbell: AV Preeminent</li>
<li>Colorado Super Lawyers
<ul>
<li>&#8220;Super Lawyer&#8221; (2010 to 2017, 2019 to 2023)</li>
<li>&#8220;Rising Star&#8221; (2009)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>


Denver

BakerHostetler Continues to Rise in High Net Worth Rankings

High Net Worth Guide Shows Increases in Rankings and Multiple Band 1 Positions

Hundreds of BakerHostetler Attorneys Honored as 2023 Best Lawyers, Ones to Watch and Lawyers of the Year

14 BakerHostetler Private Wealth Attorneys Recognized in 2022 Chambers High Net Worth Guide

191 BakerHostetler Attorneys Named in 2022 “Best Lawyers” List; 10 Recognized as “Lawyer of the Year”

15 BakerHostetler Private Wealth Attorneys Recognized in 2021 Chambers High Net Worth Guide

195 BakerHostetler Attorneys Named in 2021 “Best Lawyers” List; 13 Recognized as “Lawyer of the Year”

150 BakerHostetler Attorneys Named 2016 Super Lawyers; 91 Named Rising Stars

Family Office and Private Trust Companies

Counseling Fiduciaries and Beneficiaries

Private Wealth

Private Wealth Planning

<ul>
<li>Mike has assisted principals of oil and gas companies, private equity firms and hedge funds in planning for their carried interests and in the gifting of such carried interests to multigenerational trusts for the benefit and protection of future generations.</li>
<li>Mike assisted a client with gifting to multigenerational trusts and GRATs for the benefit of his spouse and descendants prior to the sale of the client&#8217;s company. Due to such planning and a successful sale, the client achieved his objective of transferring a targeted amount of wealth to his family, and now is able to leave the remainder of his estate to a family foundation and chosen charities.</li>
<li>Mike assists non-U.S. citizens (resident or non-resident aliens) with estate planning for their domestic and foreign situs assets. Assisted a German citizen (non-resident alien) in establishing a multigenerational trust for family members located in the U.S., which avoided U.S. gift tax, estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax for the donor and future generations.</li>
<li>Mike regularly assists Canadian citizens located in the U.S., including business owners and numerous professional hockey players, in developing comprehensive estate plans to address cross-border issues and to provide for tax-efficient and orderly distribution of assets during their lifetime and after their death.</li>
<li>Mike assists clients and insurance professionals in planning for large or complex life insurance policies, including implementation of new split-dollar agreements and review, amendment or exiting of existing split-dollar agreements. After issuance of the new split-dollar regulations by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2003, represented a client in the first local audit by the national office of the IRS which involved a large split-dollar agreement, resulting in &#8220;no change&#8221; by the IRS.</li>
<li>Mike assists clients with judicial and nonjudicial methods of reforming or modifying existing trusts, including decanting in multiple jurisdictions. Assisted a family in transferring and consolidating numerous multigenerational trusts in several different states, which involved judicial modification, court approval and decanting, to achieve the family&#8217;s desire for a simpler, more cohesive estate plan.</li>
<li>Assisted a family with transferring a $100 million business to younger family members, without any gift or estate tax, while providing control and support to those family members involved in the company, and ensuring equitable division and a continuing stream of income for those family members not involved in the company.</li>
<li>Mike assists individual and corporate fiduciaries in administration of large and complex estates or trusts, including the filing of federal gift and estate tax returns, protective elections and related tax filings. Also assists such fiduciaries and the affected beneficiaries in avoiding or settling disputes during administration. Developed creative settlements in two separate decedents&#8217; estates involving very large ranches among contentious and litigious parties.</li>
</ul>


Michael R. Stiff

Michael R. Stiff

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