John E. Poffenbarger

• Estate Planning & Trusts

John Poffenbarger heads Karr Tuttle Campbell’s Trusts and Estates department. He concentrates his practice in the areas of estate and trust planning for individuals and business planning for privately-held companies.

He is experienced in a wide range of areas including wills and trusts, planning and formation of limited liability entities, estate and trust administration, generation skipping trusts and other advanced estate planning strategies, as well as business formations, shareholder and buy-sell agreements, and business succession planning. John also frequently handles estate and gift tax matters with the IRS.

He has been named one of Washington’s best lawyers by Washington Law and Politics magazine and Super Lawyers magazine on multiple occasions. In addition, John has handled estate matters for some of the Seattle area’s most prominent musicians, and in that connection has been interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine.

Prior to his legal career, John was a Tax Specialist with KPMG Peat Marwick.

• Author, “Family Limited Partnerships and LLC’s,” Washington Partnership and LLC Deskbook,  Chapter 23  (WSBA 3^rd Edition, 2020)
• Author, “Estate Planning for the Creative Person,” 61st Annual Estate Planning Seminar, Estate Planning Council of Seattle and the University of Washington School of Law, co-presenter (November 2016)
• Author, “Succession Planning and ‘Buy-Sell’ Agreements For Closely-Held Businesses,” Washington CPA 59(2), (Fall 2015)
• Author, “Family Limited Partnerships and LLC’s,” Washington Partnership and LLC Deskbook, Chapter 22 (WSBA 2^nd Edition, 2010)
• Author, “Family Limited Partnerships and I.R.C. Section 2036,” WSBA Real Property, Probate & Trust Section Newsletter (Winter 2004)
• Author, “Family Partnerships – Recent Developments,” WSBA Real Property, Probate & Trust Section Newsletter (Spring 2000)
• Author, “The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: (Some) Relief for the Family Enterprise,” Puget Sound Business Journal (November 1997)
• Author, “Succession Planning for Closely Held Businesses,” Puget Sound Business Journal (November 1996)
• Author, “Successful Estate Planning with a Family Limited Partnership,” Northwest Woodlands magazine (Summer 1993)
• Author, “Highlights of the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1990,” WSBA Business Law Section Newsletter (March 1991)
• Author, “General Utilities Repealed: Why Small Businesses Should be Accepted,” 65 Taxes 604 (September 1987)

John is also a frequent speaker on estate and business planning topics.

• American Bar Association
  • Real Property, Probate and Trust Section
  • Tax Section
• Washington State Bar Association
  • Partnership Law Committee
  • Estate and Gift Tax Committee
• King County Bar Association
  • Seattle Estate Planning Council

• Washington State Bar
• U.S. Tax Court
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

• J.D., University of Washington School of Law
• B.S., cum laude, University of Oregon

Recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® work in Trusts and Estates (2021-2022)