Attorney Profiles
 Diane K. Foxman Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Experience:
Areas of Concentration:
Estate and Trust Administration/Litigation
In a recent estate administration, Diane developed a plan to minimize the total death taxes payable by a husband and wife through effective use of a technique called a disclaimer. On her husband’s death, the surviving wife gave up her right to inherit a portion of her husband’s very large estate. As a result, her estate (which was also very large) was not increased, the disclaimed assets passed to the children and additional tax on the appreciation of the disclaimed assets was avoided in the wife’s estate. Since the wife was wealthy in her own right, she did not need the additional inheritance. The children plan to gift some of their inherited wealth to their own children, thereby further minimizing the effect of gift, estate and inheritance taxes on the family. In another case, a client died owning a very large amount of savings bonds, with a significant amount of accrued income. Diane worked with the family to make use of an income tax election to allocate this accrued income in such a way as to save a significant amount of income tax. Diane is also experienced in protecting the interests of beneficiaries, creditors and others in estate and trust matters, including will contests, guardianship proceedings and other estate and trust litigation. Diane represented a local attorney who was serving as executor of an estate in which a disabled family member was to receive an inheritance. Because of the severity of his disability, this beneficiary worked in a sheltered workshop, earning only a few dollars a week. His main source of income was social security disability benefits and his medical care was paid for through medical assistance. If he received the inheritance outright, it would have caused him to lose his medical assistance. Working with the ARC Trust of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Diane was able to structure the inheritance in a special needs trust that allowed the beneficiary to keep his medical coverage and use the inheritance to purchase much needed clothing and furniture. In a recent contested guardianship proceeding, Diane was able to work with the family to achieve successful resolution of a dispute over who would serve as guardian for the mother. By bringing the family together with a guardianship agency, Diane was able to avoid a family crisis and get the agency appointed as guardian. In another case, mother died leaving two daughters who had a very contentious relationship. Diane was able to counsel her client to work with her sister in the successful sale of their mother’s commercial real estate and close out the family business. As a result of her effective management of the family relationship, Diane received several referrals from the attorney who served as executor of the mother’s estate.
Business Planning In a recent argument before the Board of Finance and Revenue, Diane was successful in getting the Board to reverse a decision of the Department of Revenue, thereby saving the client approximately $45,000 in disputed sales tax, interest and penalty.
Professional and Civic Activities: Diane sits on the Board of Directors of the Montgomery County Estate Planning Council and is editor of the Council’s newsletter. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania and Montgomery County Bar Associations. She serves on the Elder Law Committee of both associations, as well as the Rules of Orphans’ Court Committee of the Montgomery County Bar Association. In 2004 Diane was invited to join a group of local bankers, entrepreneurs and Montgomery County Community College administrators to develop a seminar to teach women the basics of starting their own businesses. The seminar was offered for the first time in the Spring of 2005 at Montgomery County Community College, and Diane participated as a guest lecturer to discuss the Legal and Tax Aspects of Owning a Business. Because of her unique expertise and knowledge of both special education and the law, Diane has been retained as a consultant and expert witness in litigation involving special education issues. In the Spring of 2005, Diane presented a half-day seminar to the attorneys of a law firm that serves as special education counsel to over 250 school districts. Diane has lectured widely on estate and trust planning and administration, and the legal problems related to incapacity, aging and long-term care financing. She has been a lecturer for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute on a number of occasions. Diane sits on the Temple University General Alumni Association Investment Committee, which manages the association’s investment portfolio. EDUCATION Diane received her B.A. in psychology from Temple University in 1968. She then completed extensive graduate work in educational psychology and joined the faculty of the Reading Department in the College of Education at Temple, where she received an Excellence in Teaching award. After a twenty-year career as an educational psychologist, Diane attended Temple University School of Law and received her J.D. degree, Magna Cum Laude, in 1992. Diane is admitted to practice before all Pennsylvania courts as well as the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
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