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Laura L. Wartner
Partner / AtlantaLaura L. Wartner is a Partner in the Private Client Services and Tax Practice of Smith, Gambrell & Russell LLP, with a focus on family business planning, estate planning and probate administration.
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Full Bio
Ms. Wartner’s experience includes all aspects of family business and wealth transition planning, estate planning and probate administration, including preparation of wills and trusts and the preparation and filing of federal estate and gift tax returns. She has assisted numerous individuals in developing sophisticated plans designed to accomplish family goals, minimize estate taxes, and facilitate the transition of family capital, including buy/sell arrangements, wealth transfer and freeze transactions, and extensive philanthropic planning. In addition, she has experience in administering charitable entities, including, private foundations and public charities.
Ms. Wartner is a member of the Family Firm Institute as well as the President of Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises. She is also a member of the Fiduciary Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council and the Philanthropic Advisors Leadership Institute. She is a frequent presenter and writer on estate planning, family wealth issues, and end-of-life care planning.
Prior to joining Smith, Gambrell & Russell in 1998, she was an attorney with the Nashville law firm of Bass, Berry & Sims and a shareholder with the Cincinnati law firm of Santen & Hughes.
Ms. Wartner received her B.A. degree, summa cum laude, in Sociology from Miami University in 1978. In 1983, she received her J.D. degree from the University of Cincinnati, where she was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as Lead Articles Editor of the Cincinnati Law Review. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia.
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Bar Admissions
Georgia -
Education
Undergraduate- Miami University
Law School- University of Cincinnati
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Memberships
Atlanta Estate Planning Council
Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises
Family Firm Institute
Fiduciary Law Section of the Georgia Bar Association
Philanthropic Advisors Leadership Institute -
Recognitions
The Best Lawyers in America®, Tax Law, Atlanta (2021-2026); Trust and Estates, Atlanta (2024-2026) -
SGR Publications
- Don’t Let This Estate Planning Mistake Happen To You…..
- Fourth Quarter 2023: Private Wealth, Trusts & Estates Practice Group of Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP
- 2020 Estate Planning – Winding Down
- Tis the Season…
- Trends in Family Philanthropy
- The SECURE Act: What Does it Mean For You?
- What’s In a Name? (Part 2): Tax and Other Consequences Caused by Joint Ownership of Real Property
- Estate Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
- Why Worry About Community Property?
- Georgia’s New Uniform Power of Attorney Act in Review (Part One)
- The Prospect of Estate Tax Repeal: What to Do Now
- National Health Care Decisions Day: Do You Know Where Your Advance Directive Is?
- 2017 Estate Planning Update
- Call to Action: Proposed Regulations May Limit Valuation Discounts
- Call to Action: Proposed Regulations May Limit Valuation Discounts
- Ensuring Communication of Your Health Care Wishes: Bridging the Gap Between Health Care Directives and End-of-Life Care
- Ensuring Communication of Your Health Care Wishes: Bridging the Gap Between Advance Directives and End-of-Life Care
- Using a CLAT to Fund a Family Foundation: A Legacy For Family Philanthropy
- Now What?: Thoughts on Gift and Estate Planning After 2010
- The Care and Feeding of Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts
- Shifting Wealth: Using a GRAT in the Sale of Your Business
- Holiday Gift Courtesy of the U.S. Congress
- GRATs: Going, Going……(Almost) Gone!
- Estate Tax Eliminated for 2010
- Three Steps to Understanding Estate Tax Relief
- Securing Your Family’s Future: Perspectives on Estate Planning
- POWER OVER YOUR FATE
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Press
- The Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 105 SGR Attorneys in 2025 Edition
- The Best Lawyers in America® Recognizes 102 SGR Attorneys in 2024 Edition
- Smith Gambrell Russell Partners Laura Wartner and Michael Whitty Elected President and Secretary, Respectively, of Board of Directors of Attorneys for Family-Held Enterprises
- Best Lawyers in America Recognizes 91 SGR Attorneys in 2023 Edition
- Best Lawyers in America Recognizes 66 SGR Attorneys in 2022 Edition
- Best Lawyers in America© Recognizes 63 SGR Attorneys in 2021
- Smith, Gambrell & Russell Welcomes Attorney Collins Brown to Firm’s Atlanta Tax and Trusts and Estates Practices