Fred Daniels is an estate, trusts and gift attorney who works with closely-held businesses to lay the groundwork for seamless operation and transfer from one generation to the next. Fred’s compassionate and creative approach protects business interest by implementing proper structure in the early stages of business and adjusting as the business grows. He calls on his years as a trust officer and tax manager to find the best tax and estate planning solutions for his clients.
Fred served as the lead trial and appellate counsel in numerous estate, gift and income tax cases that have shaped Alabama precedent. His experience and reputation have made him a sought after scholar who sits on several committees drafting and revising the major Alabama laws affecting business law, taxes and estate planning.
Experience
- Trustee Ad Litem for approximately 5,199 Regions Bank Trust Department Accounts (Special fiduciary appointment by the Probate Count of Jefferson, Alabama to file or otherwise participate in several class actions, regulatory proceedings and other claim asserted against entities and persons related to Regions Financial Corporation in connection with purchases of certain Regions Morgan Keegan mutual funds).
- Lead trial and appellate counsel in O’Neal v. United States, 258 F.3d 1265 (11th Cir. 2001) (establishing that claims against a decedent are to be valued in the Eleventh Circuit for estate tax purposes based solely on facts known at death).
- Lead trial and appellate counsel in Beasley v. Wells, 55 So. 3d 1179 (Ala. 2010) (establishing that devise of personal effects does not include cash, stock and financial assets).
- Lead trial and appellate counsel in Smith v. Wachovia Bank, N.A, 33 So. 3d 1191 (Ala. 2009) (confirming equitable causes of actions regarding improper use of power of attorney to take principal’s assets without consideration but limiting causes of actions for contract to matters where there is consideration for the power of attorney).
- Lead trial and appellate counsel in Cleveland v. Compass Bank, 652 So. 2d 1134 (Ala. 1994) (establishing that, in Alabama, state law governs the source of payment of state estate taxes on QTIP trusts).
- Lead trial and appellate counsel in In Re Anne Jean Wilcox Dawson, ___ So. 2d ____ (Ala. 1977) (establishing that, in Alabama a person missing for less than seven years can be declared dead because the seven year presumption of life is a rebuttable presumption).