Contact Information
Biography/Practice Areas
Leah A. Foertsch is Office Managing Partner (Boca Raton, FL) with Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC and a member of the Estate and Trust Planning, Administration and Litigation Team. Her practice focuses on advising individuals and families in all areas of trust and estate planning and probate administration. In addition, she has extensive experience in representing individuals and businesses in asset protection, wealth management and tax strategies, and has managed multimillion-dollar real estate transactions, including structuring deals and providing title insurance for both commercial and residential properties. She has written extensively on topics in her practice area and is the co-author of The Trust Beneficiary’s Right of Access to Information, published in the Florida Bar Journal.
Attorney Foertsch also works with businesses on their succession planning strategies and has advised clients regarding the best structure to meet their needs and goals. Previously, she managed the estate planning and real estate practice for the Palm Beach Gardens office of a multi-state law firm, where she also handled the representation of fiduciaries in all aspects of probate administration.
As a community volunteer and civic servant, Attorney Foertsch has contributed her time, talent and resources to a number of nonprofit and municipal organizations. Since 2014, she served on the Lake Worth Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and was elected Vice Chair in 2023. She was also a member of the Boynton Beach Planning and Zoning Board from 2007 through 2011. Her nonprofit work has included volunteering on the Peggy Adams Animal Rescue League C2Z, the Town of Palm Beach United Way Allocations Committee and as a mentor for the Children’s Home Society Project 18. For over a decade, she served as a lecturer at St. Thomas University in Miami, teaching bar preparation seminars and workshops on Florida business entities. She was an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University from 2010 to 2011.
Attorney Foertsch earned her J.D. from St. Thomas University School of Law, her Master of Laws in Taxation from the University of Miami School of Law, and her undergraduate degree in sociology from Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. She is licensed to practice in Florida and is a member of the Florida Bar, Tax and Real Property, Probate and Trust sections.
Areas of Practice
- Estate and Trust Planning and Administration
- Probate Administration
- Tax Law
- Real Estate Law
- Business Succession Planning
Education/Professional Associations
Education
- University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida
- Masters of Law – 2005
- Major: Taxation
- St Thomas University School of Law, Miami, Florida
- J.D. – 2004
- Washington and Jefferson College
- B.A. – 2001
- Major: Sociology
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Florida Bar, Tax and Real Property, Probate and Trust sections
Representative Matters
Articles & Insights
So, You Want to Wrestle An Alligator?
How Life Insurance Proceeds Could Affect a Company’s Valuation for Estate Tax Purposes
I’ve Watched Succession – Why On Earth Would I Give My Kids That Level Of Power?
IRS Targets Monetized Installment Sales in Proposed Regulations
‘Tis The Season for Tax Fraud
The Corporate Transparency Act – Preparing Now Will Help You Avoid Penalties
The Self-Employment Tax Exemption for Limited Partnership Earnings Under IRS Scrutiny
Florida Bar Journal: The Trust Beneficiary’s Right of Access to Information
Speaking Engagements:
Dead But Not Done: Post Mortem Planning, Florida Bar Association
Probate and Trust Litigation, National Business Institute
Trusts and Taxes in Florida From A to Z, National Business Institute
Florida Probate Process from Start to Finish, National Business Institute
Florida Estate Administration from Start to Finish, National Business Institute
Top Estate Planning Tools 2022, National Business Institute
Probate Process and Exec. Duties, National Business Institute
Florida Trust Litigation, National Business Institute
Florida Trust Administration & Mechanics, National Business Institute
5-Key Steps to Successful Business Succession Planning, Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce
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