Ronald F. Wayne
Partner | Cleveland
Trusts & Estates Practice Group Leader
Assistant | Janet M. Pietro : [email protected]
About Ronald:
I am a trusts and estates attorney with a focus on estate planning, probate, and elder law. I assist my clients with the efficient transfer of wealth from generation to generation, business succession plans, and probate and trust litigation matters.
I listen closely to individuals’ and families’ needs and desires so I can protect the assets they have worked hard to accumulate. I vigorously defend my clients against the Internal Revenue Service and minimize their income, estate or gift tax liabilities. For aging clients, I work to ensure your assets are not ravaged by long-term care costs. For parents of children with dependencies, disabilities, or financial issues, my goal is to ensure that your children have a secure financial future. For business owners, I assist you in selling your business or transferring it to subsequent generations.
I design and implement estate plans based upon what is of importance to you. Simply put, I am here to protect your wealth, your business and your family.
News & Articles
- Administers complex trusts and probate estates in Ohio
- Designs and implements multigenerational family estate and business succession plans
- Represents individuals before the Internal Revenue Service in estate, gift and personal income tax controversies
- Certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law under guidelines established by the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Commission on Certification of Attorneys as Specialists
- Designated as an Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP)
- In re Estate of Hernton, 164 Ohio App. 3d 306 (9th Dist., Lorain County 2005)
- Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland, Ohio (J.D., cum laude, 1978)
- Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio (B.A., magna cum laude, 1974)
- Admissions
- Ohio Bar
- New Jersey Bar
- Florida Bar
- U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio
- U.S. Tax Court
- United States Supreme Court
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America® (2010-2023)
- Recognized in Best Lawyers Business Edition® for Trusts and Estates Law (2015)
- Selected for inclusion in Ohio’s Super Lawyers® (2004-2023), as voted by his peers
- Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating of AV® Preeminent™, which is the highest possible rating in both legal and ethical standards as established by confidential opinions from members of the Bar
- Former Delegate: Estate Planning Council of Cleveland
- Member: University Hospitals Planned Giving Advisory Committee
- Member: The Lawyers Guild of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
- Member: St. Basil the Great Parish Finance and Endowment Committees
- Member, Board of Directors: Society of Financial Services Professionals
- Member: Estate Planning Advisory Council of Case Western Reserve University
- Lifetime Charter Member: Elder Care Matters Alliance
- Associations
- Member: Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Probate and Estate Planning Section
- Member: Florida Bar Association, Real Property, Probate & Trust Section
- Member: Ohio State Bar Association, Elder Law Committee
- Presentations:
- Co-presenter "Estate Planning in 2021. Can we just keep this simple, please???", (2021)
- Co-presenter "2020 The Secure Act Deep Dive," (2020)
- Co-presenter "CFPs and JDs-Working Together in the Best Interests of Our Clients," Certified Financial Planners Club (2019)
- "Eight Estate Planning Myths Your Clients Actually Believe are True," OSCPA Cleveland (2018)
- "Ohio Health Care Directives-The Legal Aspects," Cleveland Catholic Community Foundation Annual Seminar (2018)
- "Modification, Private Settlements, and Decanting of Irrevocable Trusts," Estate Planning Council of Cleveland (2018)
- "MythBusters: Estate Planning Edition," Co-Presentation at OSCPA Cleveland Accounting Show (2018)
- "Fixing Broken Trusts. Can we now fix the 'unfixable'?," Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (2017)
- "Modifying Irrevocable Trusts," Akron Bar Association (2017)
- "What to do when the Cocktail Waitress Inherits Everything 2.0; Bulletproofing Your Estate Plan," Akron Tax Club (2017)
- "Introduction to Estate Planning in Ohio for Clergy," Catholic Diocese of Cleveland (2017)
- "All New Inheritance Controversies – What to do When the Cocktail Waitress Inherit Everything 2.0," Ohio Society of CPAs (2016)
- “What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Ohio's New Domestic Asset Protection Trust,” Lake County Bar Association (2014)
- “Ohio's Legacy Trust,” 27th Annual Carver Financial CLE Update (2014)
- “What You (or Your Parents) Need to Know about Long Term Care,” St Basil Great Estate Planning Seminar (2014)
- “Why Now is the Best Estate Planning Time Ever...Really!,” Ohio CPA Accountancy Show (2014)
- “Why Ohio is a Great State for Estate Planning,” (2014)
- “How & What to Ask Your Parents About Their Estate Planning” Cohen and Company CFO Update (2014)
- “Recent Developments in Ohio Estate Planning And Probate Law,” Ohio CPA Accountancy Show, (2013)
- “Inheritance Controversies: Did Grandfather Really Mean to Disinherit Me?,” Ohio CPA Accountancy (2013)
- “Getting Back to Basics: What Estate Planning Clients Really Care About”
- “What Every Ohio Lawyer Should Know About Florida Law”
- “Elder Law – Taking Control of the Planning Process”
- “Ohio Advanced Probate”
- “Transfer on Death Designations in Real Estate”
- Frequent lecturer on behalf of brokerage houses, insurers and financial planners on topics related to various estate planning and charitable giving techniques
- Ohio 2012 Changes to Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Probate Law," Accountancy Show (2012)
- “Guardianship Alternatives in Ohio - Powers of Attorney and More,” Consortium against Adult Abuse: Legal Interventions in Elder Abuse: How to Make Them Work (2013)
- “Practical Pointers: Update on SB 117 Affecting Trusts, Probate Procedures, Powers of Attorney, and Private Settlement Agreements,” Million Dollar Roundtable Group (2012)
- “Estate Planning during Difficult Times; Why you need to act now,” Barberton Community Foundation (2012)
- “Doubling Your Value to Your 1014 Trustee: Preparing the Annual Report to Beneficiaries under the Ohio Trust Code,” Ohio Accountancy Show (2011)
- “What to do When the Cocktail Waitress Inherits Everything,” Ohio Accountancy Show (2011)
- “Estate and Gift Tax Planning in an Uncertain Environment,” Society of Financial Service Professionals (2011)
- “Update on Estate Gift and Generation Skipping Transfer Taxes and the Role of Trusts and Gifting in Business Succession Planning,” National Tax Conference, University of Akron School of Accountancy (2011)
- “Awards of Attorney Fees in Probate Litigation,” Akron Bar Association, Probate Section (2011)
- “Inheritance Controversies,” Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 39th Charitable Tax Seminar (2011)
- "The Specter of Undue Influence Against the Elderly," Take a Stand: Consortium Against Adult Abuse (2010)
- “What the 2010 Tax Reform Act means to your estate plan,” Breakfast with Buckingham (2011)
- “Recent Developments in Estate Planning and Trust Law: Forecast for 2009 and beyond,” presented to The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (2008)
- “What Ohio’s New Trust Code Means to You and Your Business,” Presented to The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (2007)
- “Estate and Asset Protection for Physicians,” University of Toledo School of Medicine (2007)
- "New CARES Act: Means Big Changes to Your IRA in 2020," Our Catholic Heritage (2020)
- "I like simple things... like leaving a charitable legacy with an IRA!," Cleveland Bar Journal (2019)
- "Five Tips for Selecting a Qualified Estate Planning Attorney," Crain's Cleveland Business (2017)
- Co-Author "How Trump's tax reform proposals might affect charitable giving," Crain's Cleveland Business (2017)
- "How Far Should You Go? Authorizing Trust Creation Under a Durable Power of Attorney," Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal (2017)
- “Preserving Portability-The Deceased Spousal Unused Exemption Amount-Easier Done Than Said?,” Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal (2011, 2012)
- “A Discussion on Living Wills,” Catholic Universe Bulletin (2010)
- “Growing specter of financial abuse of the elderly,” Cleveland Jewish News (2010)
- “Emerging Litigation Trends under the Ohio and Florida Trust Codes or 'Mom always liked you best,” Revisited, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association Journal (2009)
CONNECT WITH Ronald
Our attorneys will provide a collaborative, thoughtful approach to your legal needs. We look forward to connecting with you.
