Daniel Lewis

Daniel Lewis advises multigenerational families on the formation and administration of family offices, such as entity selection and structuring, governance frameworks, investment and operating policies, information-rights protocols and risks, privacy, and cybersecurity considerations. Confidentiality and effective reporting are his highest values. 

Dan’s practice involves sophisticated trust and transfer tax planning, with depth in nongrantor trust strategies designed to optimize income-tax efficiency, asset protection, and control across jurisdictions. He structures and implements intentionally defective grantor trusts, dynasty trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, beneficiary defective and deemed owner trusts, grantor-retained annuity and unitrusts, qualified personal residence trusts, incomplete gift trusts, domestic asset protection trusts, directed trusts, silent and quiet trusts, and purpose trusts, addressing tax minimization, succession, basis management, privacy, asset protection, and complex family governance needs. Dan integrates trusts with closely held business interests, private funds, and alternative assets, tailoring fiduciary provisions, distribution standards, and administrative mechanics to the family’s objectives and risk profile. 

Dan counsels clients on the full life cycle of cryptocurrency and digital asset planning. His experience includes entity and trust design for on-chain and off-chain assets, custody and key management solutions, valuation and basis tracking considerations, cross-border and state tax implications, charitable and philanthropic structures, and tax reporting and compliance. He develops frameworks to facilitate secure transfers, liquidity events, and succession planning for wallets, exchange accounts, and tokenized interests. 

Dan also leads privacy planning for families and individuals, designing structures to minimize public footprints and control information flows. His work involves entity layering, jurisdiction selection, trust situs strategies, registered agent and address hygiene, confidentiality and information-rights policies for family offices, secure communication and data governance, and cybersecurity coordination with advisers. He addresses privacy issues in real estate acquisitions, philanthropic initiatives, and succession events, helping clients manage regulatory disclosures, media exposure, and digital data risks. 

In addition, Dan represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in complex trust and estate administration, including probate and pre- and post-mortem planning, and advises on tax compliance and disputes with the IRS, Illinois Department of Revenue, and other taxing authorities.