W. Curtis Elliott, Jr. is an architect of multi-generational wealth for successful family enterprises. Through his combined expertise in estate and gift tax law, trusts & estates and corporate law, he helps family companies develop long term, durable structures to help minimize estate taxes, promote business succession and protect company assets from the risks of children’s divorces.
Curtis’s peers have recognized him as one of the Best Lawyers in America in tax law. His work includes insurance trusts, corporate matters, shareholder dynasty trusts, buy-sell agreements, mergers and acquisitions, and real estate tax planning. He serves clients in industries such as real estate development, construction, mortgage servicing, healthcare software, data management, freight, distribution, and logistics. Curtis’s clients are located in both the Charlotte area and across the southeast United States.
Curtis also has extensive courtroom experience in high-stakes estate and income tax cases. He litigates federal tax controversies before IRS Administrative Appeals, the U.S. Tax Court, and the Federal District Courts. His advocacy has resolved some of the most complex tax issues for clients. Curtis handles all types of tax cases, including estate and gift tax audits, civil IRS proceedings, U.S. Tax Court litigation, IRS criminal tax investigations, and tax trials in the state and federal courts. Curtis’s tax controversy clients range from Fortune 500 corporations to private family companies and decedents’ estates. He also handles trust and estate cases for clients.
Curtis often speaks at numerous tax controversy and litigation panels across U.S. He is a past Chair of the ABA Tax Section’s Committee on Court Procedure and Practice. Curtis is also a past Chair of its Committee on judges’ appointments to the U.S. Tax Court. Additionally, Curtis is a co-author of the nationally published treatise entitled “Valuation Practice in Estate Planning and Litigation,” published by Clark Boardman and Callahan in 1994.
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