Chicago Office
Tel: (312) 715-5251
Fax: (312) 632-1706

Kirk A. Hoopingarner

Partner

Kirk Hoopingarner is a partner in the firm's Trusts & Estates and Tax-Exempt Organizations Practice Groups. For over 30 years, Mr. Hoopingarner has concentrated his practice on all facets of wealth planning and philanthropy for high-net-worth families and individuals. He has counseled his clients on a broad range of matters, involving the management and transfer of wealth including charitable gifting techniques, all types of trusts used in family wealth management and transfers, business succession planning, family limited partnerships and limited liability companies, asset protection, and federal and state estate and gift tax planning. Mr. Hoopingarner also has extensive experience in sophisticated charitable planning, both for individual donors and for substantial charitable organizations.

Legal Services

  • Estate, Trust & Wealth Preservation
  • Banking & Financial Institutions
  • Fiduciary, Trust and Probate Litigation
  • Financial Institutions Litigation
  • Tax-Exempt Organizations
  • Automotive Industry

Education and Honors

  • University of Michigan Law School (J.D., cum laude, 1984)
  • Hope College (B.A., 1981)

Bar Admissions

  • Illinois

Professional and Civic Activities

  • Chicago Estate Planning Council (Member)
  • Corporate Responsibility Group of Greater Chicago (Past President)
  • Evanston Community Foundation (Past Chair)
  • Children's Memorial Foundation (Member, Professional Advisors Council)
  • Chicago Zoological Society (Member, Planned Giving Advisory Committee)
  • McGaw YMCA of Evanston, Illinois (Past Chair)
  • Lincoln Park Zoo (Member, Planned Giving Advisory Council)
  • Planned Giving Today (Editorial Advisory Board)
  • The Davee Foundation (Member, Board of Directors, elected July 31, 2015)
  • The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (Member)
  • Co taught with Jodi Pellettiere and Nora Jones the Law of Tax-Exempt Organizations course for the fall semester, 2017 of the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Graduate Tax Program

Professional Recognition

  • Selected as an Illinois Leading Lawyer - Leading Lawyers Network, 2017–present (Trust, Will & Estate Planning)
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® (2012–present: Trusts & Estates)
  • Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers® (2006–present: Estate Planning & Probate)

Publications and Presentations

11/08/18
"Giving 2018: National Trends and Local Impact"
Lake County, Illinois Estate Planning Council

11/01/18
"Charitable Planning Desk Reference for Advisors- Fifth Edition (2018)"
Strategic Philanthropy (Chicago charitable consulting firm)

09/05/18
"Navigating Philanthropy Under the New Tax Law"
Evanston Community Foundation

09/01/18
"When Private Foundations Spend Down"
Planned Giving Today

01/01/18
"Top Myths and the Great Wealth Transfer"
Planned Giving Today

12/12/17
"Chapter 5—Family Limited Partnerships"
Business Partnerships Book - Illinois Institute of Continuing Legal Education

10/17/17
"Changing Views of Philanthropy as We Face The Great Wealth Transfer"
Chicago Estate Planning Council

09/06/17
"Charitable Planning in These Uncertain Times"
12th Annual Hirschler Professional Advisors Seminar

07/01/17
"Tax Reform and its Potential Impact on Donors"
Planned Giving Today

06/15/17
"Considerations for Use of Donor Advised Funds for Charitable Giving"
Evanston Community Foundation

05/25/17
"Reading the Tea Leaves: How Tax Reform Could Impact Future Charitable Planning"

05/11/17
"Charitable Planning in Light of Possible Sweeping Tax Reform Legislation"
Bloomberg BNA

05/01/17
"Conversions of Private Foundations to Donor Advised Funds"
American Endowment Foundation

04/28/17
"Effectively Engaging Donors in Planned Giving"
2017 North American Y Development Organization ("NAYDO") conference

04/25/17
"Designing Charitable Gifts with Noncash Assets"
Chicago Council on Planned Giving

01/18/17
"The Charitable Tax Deduction and Exemption: Calm Before the Storm?"
Greater North Shore Estate and Financial Planning Council

09/27/16
"Offering DAFs - How to Impact Donor Giving"
Crescendo's Annual Practical Planned Giving Conference (Chicago, IL)

06/08/16
"A 360 On Donor Advised Funds: How They Are Changing Charitable Giving"
DePaul University

03/12/16
"Charitable Giving in Times of Economic Turbulence"
Chicago Zoological Society

03/01/16
"Prepare for Bequest Challenges Based on Alleged Undue Influence or Incapacity"
Planned Giving Today

01/16/16
"Outlook of Philanthropy in 2016"
The Chicago Council on Planned Giving

11/04/15
"Trends in Charitable Giving"
Annual Professional Advisors Reception hosted by the Community Foundation of the Land of Lincoln

09/26/15
"Planning for Disability"
Financial planning seminar for donors of Chicago Zoological Society

08/07/15
"Maximizing the Impact of Charitable Giving Through Community Foundations"
Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations

07/16/15
"Giving Options: Understand and Leverage Different Ways to Give"
Exponent Philanthropy

07/08/15
In Wake of Marriage Equality Ruling, Estate Plans Deserve Attention
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin

05/28/15
"The Implications of Donor Advised Funds on Planned Giving"
ChicagoCouncil on Planned Giving 2015 Annual Symposium

05/21/15
"How to Incorporate Planned Giving Into Your Fundraising Strategy"
Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative

04/28/15
"Navigating the Changing Landscape of Philanthropic Investment"
Co-hosted by Bernstein Private Wealth Management and the Donors Forum

04/24/15
"Planned Giving Workshop"
National YMCA Development Organization National Conference, Atlanta

04/22/15
"Donor Advised Funds and Social Impact Investing"
Moderated panel discussion for Impact Capitalism Summit, Union League in Chicago

04/21/15
"Estate Planning"
University of Illinois Chicago

03/09/15
"Hope Is Not a Strategy"
NAYDO.org

03/01/15
"How to Minimize Naming Rights Conflicts"
Planned Giving Today

12/04/14
"Reflections on Charitable Planning Two Years after the American Taxpayer Relief Act"
La Crosse Community Foundation's Tax and Legal Seminar

11/01/14
"Family Business Succession Planning"
Illinois Banker Magazine

09/09/14
"Reflections on Charitable Planning Two Years after the American Taxpayer Relief Act"
Tax & Legal Seminar of the Madison Community Foundation

02/04/14
“Tax on trusts is unconstitutional if no connection to Illinois”
Southern Business Journal

01/08/14
For Trusts With No Current Illinois Connection, Income Tax is Unconstitutional
Estate, Trust and Wealth Preservation Law Alert

01/01/14
"Enforcing Unfulfilled Pledges"
Planned Giving Today

08/01/13
"A Bequest Administration Primer: Part I and Part II"
Planned Giving Today

06/06/13
"How to Keep Your Donors in Tune with the New Tax Legislation"
Chicago Council on Planned Giving Annual Symposium

05/09/13
"Charitable Planning Methods and What They Mean for Your Clients"
Illinois CPA Estate and Gift Tax Conference

02/01/12
"Ten Things Not to Miss in Charitable Planning"
Tampa Bay Community Foundation

07/20/11
"Ten Things Not to Miss in Charitable Planning"
Greater North Shore Estate & Financial Planning Council

05/10/11
"Impact of Federal and State Estate Tax Reform on Charitable Giving"
Associate Member Peer Exchange of Donors Forum

10/21/10
"Ten Things Not to Miss in Charitable Planning"
Chicago Estate Planning Council

07/09/10
"Responsible Investment Practices for Nonprofit Managers and Directors"
Presentation co-sponsored by McGaw YMCA and Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

05/21/10
"Legal Issues to Consider When Being Strategic in Spending Down...or Choosing Perpetuity"
Donors Forum

10/28/09
"The Effect of the Economic Downturn and 2009 Federal Tax Legislation on Charitable Planning Techniques"
Sponsored by Chicago Botanic Garden and JP Morgan Chase

09/01/09
"The Rise of the Family Foundation"
Association of Fundraising Professionals, Chicago chapter

06/01/09
"Estate Planning Considerations for Parents of Disabled Children"
Center for Independent Futures

06/01/09
"The Effect of the Economic Downturn on Charitable Planning Techniques"
McGaw YMCA

03/01/09
"Aging Donors: Capacity vs. Incapacity - Best Practices for Professional Advisors"
Sponsored by Chicago Council on Planned Giving

12/01/08
"The Estate Collar: Help Estates Profit from the Market"
Trusts and Estates