Proskauer

Dara Howard is a senior counsel in the firm's Private Client Services Department. She advises high-net-worth individuals and families on sophisticated wealth transfer and preservation strategies, with a practice focused on trust and estate administration, post-death tax planning, estate and gift planning, family business succession planning, charitable planning, and estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax matters.

Dara's practice involves guiding fiduciaries and beneficiaries through complex estate and trust administrations. She advises on post-mortem planning opportunities designed to reduce transfer taxes, preserve family wealth, and achieve efficient estate settlements. Dara regularly prepares and oversees federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax returns and has extensive experience addressing valuation issues involving closely held businesses, real estate, and other hard-to-value assets. She works closely with appraisers, accountants, and other advisors to develop and support tax reporting positions and represents clients in estate and gift tax audits and examinations.

In addition to her post-death practice, Dara designs and implements sophisticated wealth transfer strategies, including grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs), qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs), dynasty trusts, and private family foundations. She is known for developing practical, customized planning solutions that help families achieve their long-term objectives while navigating complex family dynamics.

Before joining Proskauer, Dara practiced at a Massachusetts law firm, where she advised high-net-worth individuals and families on estate planning and trust and estate administration matters. She is admitted to practice in Florida and Massachusetts.