Bill is a member of the firm's fiduciary advisory services and private wealth services
practice groups. He represents both high-net worth individuals and families on a variety
of sensitive and complex estate and business planning matters. His practice focuses on
the areas of estate planning and estate and trust administration.
A frequent speaker, Bill has also taught Federal Taxation Practice and Procedure at
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business.
Prior to completing his law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law, Bill
completed coursework at the University of South Carolina School of Law. While
attending the University of Virginia, Bill was a member of the Raven Society and the
Jefferson Literary and Debating Society.
William I. Sanderson
Partner
T: +1 202 857 1743
F: +1 202 828 2961
[email protected]
2001 K Street N.W.
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20006-1040
T: +1 804 775 4717
F: +1 804 698 2212
Gateway Plaza
800 East Canal Street
Richmond, VA 23219-3916
PRACTICES
Private Wealth Services
Estate Planning
EXPERIENCE
• Provided comprehensive estate, trust, tax and closely-held business planning advice to
multiple generations of high net worth families.
• Advised single family office operating in several states on Dodd-Frank Act compliance
and related issues.
• Drafted multiple grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), including GRATs holding
closely held business interests and large concentrations of publicly held securities;
assisted clients in managing GRAT annuity payments and terminations.
• Worked with Generation X and Generation Y members of high net worth families on
the legal strategies to finance, build and grow start-up businesses.
EDUCATION
• University of Virginia, JD, 2006
• University of Virginia, BA, 1998
ADMISSIONS
Family Business and Family Office
Services
• District of Columbia
Trust and Estate Administration
• Virginia
INTERNATIONAL
Western and Southern Europe
HONORS
• Named to "Legal Elite," Taxes/Estates/Trusts/Elder Law, Virginia Business, 2016
• Named to “Virginia Rising Stars,” Estate Planning and Probate, Closely Held
Business, Super Lawyers, Thomson Reuters, 2012-2016
PUBLICATIONS
• Co-author, "IRS Settlement With Carmex Owners Is Surprising," Law360, April 14,
2016
• Co-Author, "Frank Aragona Trust v. Commissioner," American Bar Association,
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William I. Sanderson
Probate and Property, Volume 28, Number 5, November 5, 2014
• Co-author, "S Corporations: Tax Planning for Transitions," Probate & Property
Magazine, July/August 2012
• Co-author, "Estate Planning In Uncertain Times: The Impact of the Repeal of the
Estate Tax and What You Need to Consider," January 1, 2010
• Co-author, "Estate Tax Deferral, Planning Now and Being Prepared Later," ABA
Trusts & Investments Magazine, March – April 2008
EVENTS
• Speaker, "All About That Basis: What We Estate Planners Should Be Thinking
About When It Comes to Income Tax," Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council,
November 15, 2016
• Moderator, "The Impact of the 2016 Elections on Taxes," Post-Election Program,
McGuireWoods LLP Webinar, November 10, 2016
• Speaker, "Lessons from Virginia Fiduciary Litigation Cases," 35th Annual Trusts
and Estates Seminar, October 27, 2016
• Speaker, "Litigation Lessons to Lessen Lamenting: Practical Planning Pointers from
Virginia Fiduciary Cases," Virginia CLE Trust and Estate Seminar, October 2016
• Speaker, "Duties and Powers of the Trustee," FOX Trustees and Beneficiaries
Workshop, June 22, 2016
• Speaker, "Distribution Provisions: Understanding the Issues and Options," FOX
Trustees and Beneficiaries Workshop, June 22, 2016
• Speaker, "All About That Basis: Income Tax Aspects of Estate Planning," The
Douglas W. Connor 37th Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration
Seminar, April 30, 2016
• Speaker, "Directed and Divided Trusteeships….and the New Uniform Directed
Trustee Act," Trust Advisor’s Forum, February 22, 2016
• Faculty, "Estate Planning in a World of Creditors and Predators: Asset Protection for
Every Estate Planning Client," 34th Annual Trusts and Estates Seminar, October 20
& 28, 2015
• Speaker, "Delegation, Directed Trustees, and Divided Trustees" and "Twenty Steps
to Avoid Fiduciary Litigation (Ethics)," Be a Road Warrior, Not Road Kill: Issues
Confronting Fiduciaries, October 7, 2015
• Speaker, "Old MacDonald Has a Farm . . . With Corporate Farming Statutes Here
and Special Use Valuation There, What Kind of Planning Can Old MacDonald
Do?," 2015 Joint Fall CLE Meeting, Closely Held Business Committee – ABA Tax
Section, Business Planning Group – ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Section,
September 18, 2015
• Speaker, Recent Developments, Baker Tilley Virchow Krause, June 24, 2015
• Speaker, "The New Paradigm of Perpetual Planning," 67th Annual Virginia
Conference on Federal Taxation, June 5, 2015
• Speaker, "It’s Just (Planning for) Marriage: Applying Decisions and Guidance
About Same-Sex Marriage from Courts, Agencies, Legislatures, and Public Officials
to the Contemporary Estate and Trust Practice," 43rd Annual University of
Richmond Estate Planning Seminar, May 13, 2015
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William I. Sanderson
• Speaker, "Forming Entities," D.C. Bar Estate Planning Update, February 9, 2015
• Speaker, "Investment Decisions Including Issues with Closely Held Businesses
Facing Trustees," "Income Tax Issues With 3.8% Supplemental Tax" and "Ethical
Considerations for Professional Fiduciaries," What You Do Not Know Can Hurt
You, October 7, 2014
• Panelist, "Pre-Death and Post-Death Estate Planning for Closely Held Businesses,"
ABA Joint Fall Meeting, ABA Real Property, Trust and Estate Section, September
19, 2014
• Panelist, "Recognizing the Full Scope of the Trustee Role," Southeastern Family
Office Forum, September 18, 2014
• Speaker, "Fending Off the Forced Sale: How to Weave, Bob, Hop, Skip and Jump
When Administering an Estate with Illiquid Assets," The Douglas W. Conner 34th
Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar, May 3, 2014;
District of Columbia Bar Tax Section Estate Planning Committee, September 9,
2014
• Speaker, "Drafting LLC Operating Agreements: Important Provisions for CloselyHeld Businesses," District of Columbia Bar CLE Program, August 20, 2014
• Speaker, "The Brave New World of Certainty: Is That What Estate Planning in 2014
Really Can Be?," $name, Financial Planning Association of Central Virginia, 8th
Annual Financial Forum, June 5, 2014
• Speaker, "Everything Old is New Again, Except Some Things That Are Just New:
Recent Developments in Estate Planning, Estate and Gift Taxation, and Estate and
Trust Administration," 13th Annual VSCPA Industry Conference, May 21, 2014
• Speaker, "Who Doesn’t Want to Inherit Something? The Basics of Post-Mortem
Estate Planning with Disclaimers and Assignments," District of Columbia Bar:
Estates, Trust and Probate Law Series, May 15, 2014
• Speaker, "Drafting Operating Agreements for LLCs and Other Business Entities,"
District of Columbia Bar CLE Program, February 18, 2014
• Speaker, "Challenges in Trust Departments Working with Family Offices," and
"Ethics Concerns for Trust Officers," Surmounting the Current Challenges: Issues
Confronting Professional Fiduciaries, October 10, 2013
• Panelist, Advising the Fiduciaries of Trusts Holding Business Interests, ABA
Section of Taxation and Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law, 2013 Joint
Fall CLE Meeting, September 20, 2013
• Speaker, Who’s on First? Issues Confronting Professional Fiduciaries, The Fiduciary
Advisory Services Seminar, co-presented by the Fiduciary Education Center,
October 9, 2012
• Speaker, "Health, Support & What? Distribution Provisions: Understanding the
Issues and Options," Family Office Exchange Workshop for Grantors, Trustees and
Beneficiaries, November 2011; March 2012
• Speaker, "The Good, the Bad, and the Litigation Over Investment Concentrations,"
Virginia CLE Trust Administration Seminar, February 2012
• Speaker, "The Estate Planning Toolbox: A Practical Guide for Advisors," Central
Arizona Estate Planning Council, February 2012
• Speaker, "GOTCHA Transactions in the Formation, Structure and Conveyance of
Business Interests," American Bar Association RPTE-Tax Joint CLE Meeting, Fall
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William I. Sanderson
2011
• Speaker, "Paying the Estate Tax from the Private Business Using Section 6166,"
Virginia CLE on Business Succession Planning, September 2011
• Speaker, "Estate Planning for the Closely Held Business," William and Mary 56th
Annual Tax Conference, November 2010
• Speaker, "1-2-3 GRAT! A Practical Look at Three Days in the Life of an Essential
Estate Planning Technique," Virginia Bar Association Trusts and Estates Legislative
Committee Annual Meeting, January 2010
• Speaker, "Navigating the Trustee's Duty to Disclose," ABA Joint Tax & RPTE Fall
Meeting, September 2008
• Speaker, "Navigating the Trustee's Duty to Disclose," Trusts and Estates Seminar,
August 2008
• Speaker, "Putting Creativity into a Corporate Box: Selecting the Right Entity for
Your Arts Business," August 2008
AFFILIATIONS
• Vice Chair, Business Planning Group, Section of Real Property Trust and Estate
Law, American Bar Association
• Member and Trust & Estates Legislative Committee Member for the Young
Lawyers Division, Virginia Bar Association
• Member, Board of Directors, Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia, 2000–2003
LANGUAGES
• German
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