Maurice D. Lee, III concentrates his practice in estate planning, estate and trust administration, charitable tax planning, representation of nonprofits, guardianships, estate and trust litigation, and the taxation of estates and trusts. He has spent his 35-year career entirely with Saul Ewing.
Mr. Lee counsels families in estate planning, representing those of relatively modest means to those worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In his practice, his goal is to provide families with practical and tax-efficient ways to transmit wealth to the next generation, while retaining a commitment to ultimate dispositive wishes. Mr. Lee has been involved in the planning of sophisticated estate planning techniques, with the goal of efficiently and effectively creating an estate plan that is comprehensible to the family.
Mr. Lee has counseled the executors of numerous estates over the course of his career, leading them through the multiple and complex steps required to settle and distribute the estate of a decedent. This has often involved handling estate and gift tax disputes before the IRS and the Tax Court. Mr. Lee also represents trustees, both corporate and individual, in dealing with the rules and laws under which trustees must operate. Mr. Lee has also been involved in numerous contested Orphans’ Court matters over the years, from will contests and will construction cases to surcharge litigation.
He is the co-author of the text, Course Material on Lifetime and Testamentary Estate Planning and is also co-author of The Pennsylvania Supplement to the Tenth Edition of Lifetime and Testamentary Estate Planning by Harrison Tweed and William Person. Mr. Lee lectures frequently both to lawyers and lay groups on subjects relating to estate planning and estate administration.
Honors and Awards
- Designated a "Pennsylvania Super Lawyer" by Philadelphia magazine and Law and Politics magazine, 2006 to present
Memberships and Affiliations
- Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, American Bar Association
- Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, Pennsylvania Bar Association
- Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, Philadelphia Bar Association
- Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Sections, New York State Bar Association
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
- Former Member, Executive Committee, Probate and Trust Law Section, Philadelphia Bar Association