Mary Akkerman
Mary Akkerman guides clients through all aspects of fiduciary representation and estate planning, including dynasty trusts, domestic asset protection trusts, estate and trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, business and tax planning, estate and gift tax planning, tax appeals, and related litigation. Mary is skilled at establishing public and private trust companies in South Dakota and regularly works with U.S. and international families and advisors on cross-border planning, non-resident alien trust formation, and international tax issues.
She was elected to the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a national organization of approximately 2,600 lawyers elected to membership by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence, and experience as trust and estate counselors. Her experience includes
- Obtaining state charters for private family trust companies for ultra-high net worth families and assisted in formation of trust company entities, policies and procedures, and trust administration matters
- Regularly representing trustees in defense of high-stakes cases involving fiduciary claims
- Regularly representing interested parties in contested trust, estate, guardianship and conservatorship matters
Mary is also a member of the firm’s Diversity Council.
Professional Activities
State Bar of South Dakota, Member
Minnesota State Bar Association, Probate and Trust Section, Member
Iowa State Bar Association, Member
American Bar Association, Section of Taxation; Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, Member
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, TEP Member
Sioux Falls Estate Planning Council, Member
Prairie Family Business Association, Member
University of South Dakota School of Law Advisory Council, Member
Sioux Falls Estate Planning Council, Board of Directors
Florida Bar, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
South Dakota Trust Association, Member, Board of Directors
Recognitions and Accomplishments
The Best Lawyers in America, trusts and estates, 2018-2020
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Fellow
ACTEC Asset Protection Committee, Member
ACTEC Fiduciary Litigation Committee, Member
Chambers High Net Worth, Private Wealth Law, South Dakota
Great Plains Super Lawyers, 2014-2018
Martindale-Hubbell AV® Rated
Thomas Sterling Honor Society
Publications
Author, “Decanting: A Practical Roadmap for Modernizing Trusts in South Dakota,” South Dakota Law Review, Volume 61, Issue 3, Fall, 2016
Author, “Handling Disputes in Estate Litigation,” Chapter 1, Managing Disputes Over Wills and Inheritance, January 1, 2014
Co-author, “Why an Irrevocable Trust is Not Always Irrevocable,” The Trust Advisor, April 1, 2012
Community Activities
P.E.O.
South Dakota State University (M.A. 1998)
South Dakota State University (B.A. 1994)
University of South Dakota School of Law (J.D., 2001, with Sterling Honors)
South Dakota
Minnesota
Iowa
Florida
U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Tax Court