Taking care of what you value most.
David Pratt is Chair of the Private Client Services Department and head of the Boca Raton office. His practice is dedicated exclusively to the areas of trusts and estates, estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer, fiduciary and individual income taxation and fiduciary litigation. He has extensive experience in estate planning and post-mortem tax planning.
David’s clients consist predominantly of high net worth individuals and families. He regularly counsels his clients regarding how to transfer wealth from generation to generation with the least amount of tax and the maximum amount of asset preservation at each generation, including protection for a divorcing child or grandchild and from potential creditors. While many of David’s clients are retired, he also represents a significant amount of business owners. He has recommended and implemented many plans which have transferred ownership of business interests to the next generation with minimal transfer tax cost and without disruption of the family business. Such plans very often include recommendations resulting from the family dynamics involved with a family business.
Ranked as a "Star Individual" in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide, David is described by his clients as a “fierce advocate”, noting that he is “very smart, very service-oriented, and understands what wealthy clients need in terms of representation”. David holds the distinction of being the sole "Star Individual" ranked in Florida and one of just four in New York.
Clients often consult with David with respect to charitable giving. He has been involved with establishing many charitable remainder and lead trusts, and has also established many private foundations. David prepares many nuptial agreements, both prior to and during a marriage. He also is very often engaged by an individual who is in the process of obtaining a divorce in order to do “pre-divorce” planning. In addition, David represents many doctors and other professionals. Specifically, he has recommended many estate plans involving entities such as family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, irrevocable trusts, and a combination of these techniques. Many of David’s clients have significant retirement plans and he regularly advises clients on how to maximize the income tax deferral with respect to such plans.
David is Florida Board-Certified in both Taxation and Wills, Trusts and Estates. There are very few attorneys in the State of Florida who hold a dual certification. He was a certified public accountant with Arthur Andersen & Co. in New York City prior to attending law school. David had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Florida Bar’s Tax Section and in delivering testimony at the IRS hearings in Washington, D.C. regarding the Tax Section’s comments on the Proposed Regulations on Required Minimum Distributions from Retirement Plans. He also was one of the authors of comments submitted to the IRS by the Section in response to a controversial Revenue Procedure concerning charitable remainder trusts.
David is a Fellow in the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, has served on its Board of Regents and was the first Chair of the New Fellows Steering Committee. He is an adjunct professor at both the University of Miami Law School and the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, in their LL.M. programs. David also is a faculty member of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association. He is a commentator on Leimberg Information Services Inc., a well-known estate planning newsletter, circulated to many estate planning professionals across the country. He has published various articles in legal journals, and lectures extensively to other lawyers, professionals, and laypersons.
David is very active with his community. He is a Vice-Chair of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America, where he served on the Planned Giving and Endowments Committee, and was Chair of the Planned Giving Initiatives Committee of the Jewish Federation of North America’s Philanthropic Resources Development Cabinet. David is a past Chair of the Professional Advisory Committee of both the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. He is a member of the Jewish National Fund’s Legal Committee. David is also on the Board of the Tel-Aviv Foundation and Onward Israel.
Education
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Brooklyn Law School, J.D.
cum laude
- New York University School of Law, LL.M., (Taxation)
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State University of New York at Albany, B.S.
magna cum laude
Admissions & Qualifications
- New York
- Florida
Memberships
Florida Bar Association (Former Chair, Chair-Elect and Secretary of Tax Section, Former Chair, Co-Chair and Vice-Chair of Long Range Planning Committee, Former Director of Education Division, Former Director of Federal Tax Division, Former Chair of Fiduciary Income Tax Committee, Former Chair of Gratuitous Transfer Committee, Former Chair and Founder of New Tax Lawyers Committee, Liaison To Executive Council Committee of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Estate and Trust Tax Planning and Asset Preservation Committees, Former Member of Will, Trust and Estate Certification Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Former Member of the Relations Between the Florida Bar and Florida Institute of CPAS Committee)
New York State Bar Association
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (Estate and Gift, and Asset Protection Committees)
American Bar Association (Former Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Fiduciary Income Tax Committee, Former Co-Chair of the Business Planning and Valuation Subcommittee of Estate and Gift Tax Committee, Former Co-Chair of the Hubert Task Force of Estate and Gift Tax Committee, Probate and Trust Law Section)
Palm Beach Tax Institute (Former President)
Boca Raton Estate Planning Council
Awards & Recognition
JD Supra Readers' Choice Wealth Management 2022
Chambers USA: Florida: Tax: Estate Planning (Band 1) 2007-2018
Chambers USA: Nationwide: Wealth Management: Eastern Region 2007-2018
Chambers High Net Worth: USA – Private Wealth: Florida – Private Wealth 2016-2024 (Star Individual, 2024)
Chambers High Net Worth: USA – Private Wealth: Nationwide: Eastern Region – Private Wealth 2016-2024 (Star Individual, 2024)
Citywealth Leaders List 2011-2013, "North America's Leaders in Private Wealth Management," Leading Lawyers
Best Lawyers’ 2011 Miami Area Trusts and Estates Lawyer of the Year
“Top 100 Attorneys in the United States,” Worth Magazine
Best Lawyers in America 2005-2018, 2020-2025
Florida Super Lawyers 2006-2021
“Florida’s Legal Elite,” Florida Trend Magazine