Megan E. Wernke

Megan E. Wernke is a Member in the Private Client practice group. Ms. Wernke advises wealthy individuals and the fiduciaries of large estates and trusts on a wide range of sophisticated tax and estate planning matters. Her practice includes developing tax-efficient estate plans, addressing clients’ business succession and creditor protection goals, and helping clients come into compliance with U.S. tax requirements, all while ensuring that clients’ non-tax objectives are met.

With her significant experience in tax controversies and litigation, Ms. Wernke advises clients with respect to substantial gift tax, estate tax, generation-skipping tax, and fiduciary income tax issues at all stages of controversy: voluntary disclosures, ruling requests, audits, IRS Appeals, and in court.

Ms. Wernke also assists existing clients with probate and trust administration.

Professional Activities

• Member, American Bar Association: Section of Taxation; Section of Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law
• Member, D.C. Bar Association: Taxation Section; Estates, Trusts, and Probate Law Section
• Member, Washington, D.C. Estate Planning Council

Awards & Rankings

• Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Up and Coming, 2018-Present
• American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute 2019-20

Recent News

• Caplin & Drysdale Announces the Election of Four New Members, October 1, 2019
• Alison Egan and Megan Wernke Accepted into the Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, September 11, 2019
• Chambers High Net Worth Guide Recognizes Caplin & Drysdale as Top-Notch Law Firm for Private Wealth Law, Chambers High Net Worth Guide, August 14, 2019
• Tax Notes Quotes Megan Wernke on Fielding and Kaestner Cases, Tax Notes, July 23, 2019
• Caplin & Drysdale Honors the Women of the Firm, Caplin & Drysdale, March 8, 2019
• Caplin & Drysdale Attorneys Advance in Chambers Ranking for Private Wealth Law, Chambers High Net Worth Guide, July 23, 2018
• Caplin & Drysdale Welcomes Former IRS Nonprofit Senior Technical Adviser and Strengthens Tax Controversies and Private Client Groups, Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered, January 16, 2018

Click here for a full list of media coverage.

Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, Close, but no §642(c)igar..., ABA Section of Taxation May Meeting, May 2, 2020
• Panelist, Estate Planning/Recent Tax Developments, Maryland Advanced Tax Institute, November 12, 2019
• Speaker, Wayfair, Kaestner, and Fielding, Oh My!: The Constitutionality of State Fiduciary Income Taxation, ALI-CLE Representing Estate and Trust Beneficiaries and Fiduciaries Conference, July 18, 2019
• Panelist, Confronting the Challenges of Tax Reform, AiP Conference on Philanthropy 2019: Responsive Philanthropy, May 23, 2019
• Speaker, Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Community Lunch Series: Recent Federal and State Tax Developments for Estate Planners, D.C. Bar, November 15, 2018
• Speaker, Recent Federal Tax Developments for Estate Planners, The Maryland Association of CPAs 2018 Advanced Tax Institute Conference, November 13, 2018
• Presenter, Estate Planning Under H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, STEP Mid Atlantic, January 31, 2018
• Panelist, Estate Planning Issues, 2017 Advanced Tax Institute (ATI), November 14, 2017
• Speaker, Basics of Fiduciary Income Taxation, Estate Planning Council of Montgomery County, November 1, 2017
• Panelist, Recent Developments In Federal Case Law, Legislation, and Regulations, Maryland State Bar Association, November 3, 2015
• Speaker, A Brave New World: The Changing Landscape of Estate Planning, American Bar Association, The Day After Tax Day, April 16, 2015

Click here for a full list of speaking engagements.

Recent Publications

• "GST Exemption Allocation for 2019, Better Late than Timely," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Steve Leimberg's Estate Planning Email Newsletter, May 20, 2020
• "Timely Estate Planning Techniques, Including "May Day" GRATs," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and Sarah J. Racicot, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2020
• ""May Day" GRATs: An Excellent Estate Planning Opportunity," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and Sarah J. Racicot, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, April 30, 2020
• "UPDATE: Gift Tax Return Due Date Now July 15, 2020," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Sarah J. Racicot, and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 27, 2020
• "Estate and Gift Tax Return Due Dates Not Postponed," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Sarah J. Racicot, and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, March 27, 2020
• "Congress Takes the Stretch Out of IRAs (and Other Retirement Assets)," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and Sarah J. Racicot, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 6, 2020
• "Supreme Court Rules Against North Carolina in Kaestner On State Income Taxation of Trusts: What Does This Mean for the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland?," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, June 26, 2019
• "UPDATED: Year-End Charitable Giving Ideas: IRA Rollovers and "Bunching" Charitable Deductions," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, November 28, 2018
• "2018 Ushers In New Estate Planning Opportunities and Pitfalls," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, January 18, 2018
• "Possible Repeal of the Estate Tax in 2017," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, December 5, 2016
• "Allocating Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Exemption," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, California Trusts and Estates Quarterly, December 30, 2015
• "2016 Federal and State Estate Gift Tax Exemptions for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, Anne J. O'Brien, and William D. Fournier, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, December 28, 2015
• "Maryland Estate Tax Exemption Set to Rise," with Beth Shapiro Kaufman, William D. Fournier, and Anne J. O'Brien, Caplin & Drysdale Client Alert, May 16, 2014

Click here for a full list of publications.