Kelly Dean Brende
Member
Career Overview: Ms. Brende’s passion is providing the highest quality legal services in a manner that is easily understood by clients. Business planning, corporate law, estate planning, taxation and trust and estate administration can be difficult topics - Kelly helps clients comprehend these complex issues through her practical and client-focused approach.
Experience Overview: For over 13 years, Kelly’s practice has focused on estate planning, business planning, corporate law, trust and estate administration, charitable giving, asset protection, and business succession planning. Taxation issues are usually involved in the business, estate and trust areas; Ms. Brende has an LL.M. in taxation which greatly benefits her clients when dealing with these issues.
Kelly maintains her clients’ trust by listening to their objectives and advising them regarding the options available and the likely tax and administrative consequences of their choices. Whether advising clients on an estate plan or the sale of their business, Kelly takes into account the technical requirements as well as the client’s feelings regarding the plan or sale. Kelly’s practice areas are very personal to the client, and she prides herself on her sensitivity to the client’s needs.
Her business planning practice ranges from business entity formation, to dealing with every day business issues, to the sale, merger or acquisition of a business. Kelly likes to be proactive when dealing with business issues to assist clients in avoiding costly tax controversies and litigation. Kelly's estate planning practice includes advising clients on estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes as well as trust and income tax issues.
Kelly began her legal career by serving as a law clerk to Peter Kiewit Sons Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway both in Omaha, Nebraska. After law school, Kelly moved to Lincoln, Nebraska and was an associate with Baylor Evnen Curtiss Grimit & Witt. She then joined the national law firm of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal in their Kansas City office in 2000 where she was a senior associate until joining Swanson Midgley, LLC as a member in 2005.
Education: Kelly received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Northern Michigan University and then received her Juris Doctor in 1995 graduating cum laude from Creighton University. Kelly also received her L.L.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri- Kansas City in 1998.
Bar Admissions: Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska; U.S. Tax Court.
Professional Affiliations and Memberships: Missouri Bar, Kansas Bar, Nebraska Bar, Kansas City Metropolitan Bar, and the American Bar Association.
Additional Information:
Publications
Contributing Author, Roy M. Adams, 21st Century Estate Planning: Practical Applications, 2003 Edition, Cannon Financial Institute.
Chapter VII: Annual Exclusion Gift Planning.
Chapter VIII: Planning for the Marital Deduction.
Chapter IX: Planning with the Application Exclusion Amount.
Contributing Author, Edwin T. Hood, John J. Mylan and Timothy P. O’Sullivan, Closely Held Businesses in Estate Planning, Second Edition (1998).
Subchapter 2.04: An Overview of the Federal Estate Tax System.
Subchapter 2.05: An Overview of the Generation Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax.
Presentations
National Business Institute, Drafting Effective Wills and Trusts, Basic Tax Considerations - What You Need To Know In Order To Choose The Appropriate Plan, March 23, 2010.
National Business Institute, Probate Practice: The Essential Basics, Spouse's Rights and Family Maintenance, June 23, 2009.
National Business Institute, Top 10 Estate Planning Techniques, May 18, 2009.
National Business Institute, Probate Practice: The Essential Basics, Spouse's Rights and Family Maintenance, November 15, 2007.
University of Missouri-Kansas City 12th Annual Estate Planning Internship Program, When One Spouse Has All the Loot: Lifetime QTIP and Spousal Testamentary Power of Appointment Trusts, September 16, 2005.
University of Missouri-Kansas City 11th Annual Estate Planning Internship Program, Unwinding The Family Limited Partnership and LLC, and How the Seven (7) Year Rule On Built In Gain Works Under §704, September 2004.
Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Nebraska Inheritance Tax Worksheet Demonstration, 1999.
Estate Planning and Business Planning Seminar, University of Nebraska School of Law, Joint Property and Disclaimers, 1997.
Nebraska Continuing Legal Education, Current Federal Developments, 1996.
Lectured on various estate planning, probate, business planning, and tax issues for many groups including financial planners, insurance agents and other professionals.
Other Experiences
Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium Committee, Member (2009) Super Lawyers of Missouri and Kansas, Rising Star (2008)
Legal Counsel, Central States Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (2002- Present)
Meritas, Finance Committee Member (2007 - Present)
Meritas, Leadership Institute (2006-2007)
Salem Lutheran Church, Lenexa, Kansas – Long Range Team (2002 – 2007) and Capital Campaign Management Team (2006-2007)
Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program – Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska (1993-2000)
Advance Trial Practice Team, Regional Competition Participant, 1995.
American Bar Association National Negotiations Competition, 7th place, 1993-1994.
Client Counseling Finalist, Creighton University, 1993.
Dean’s List, Creighton University School of Law, 1992.
Other Interests
Kelly is married and has three wonderful boys. She enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at her church and other charitable organizations.
At Swanson Midgley, we listen to our clients' needs in order to help them plan for the future and achieve their goals.
