Photo of Vanessa L. Maczko

Vanessa is a Partner in Wiggin and Dana’s Private Client Services Department in the Greenwich, CT and New York, NY offices.

Vanessa advises high net-worth individuals and families on multi-generational transfers of assets, such as closely-held business interests, marketable securities, art collections, real estate, tangible personal property and insurance policies. Her practice focuses on estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning.

For insiders of publicly traded corporations, there are numerous Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) regulations to follow and abide by.  One set of those regulations comes from Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“the Securities Act”), sometimes referred to as the “short swing profits rule,” which prohibits certain company insiders from making

On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law.   The OBBBA makes permanent several provisions implemented by Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and also introduces several new rules, many which significantly affect high-net-worth individuals.

Outlined below are five major takeaways from the OBBBA. If you

In the second episode of Future Focused: Sophisticated Estate Planning Speaker Showcase, Private Client Services Partner Vanessa Maczko and Corporate Partner Jack Sousa discuss estate planning strategies, with a focus on business owners and succession planning for both family and non-family enterprises. The discussion highlights the importance of structuring ownership using voting and non-voting shares

What Is an Intrafamily Loan?       

Intrafamily loans, or loans between family members, can be an effective estate planning tool to transfer potential growth on loaned funds between generations without reducing the lender’s lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.  The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) generally scrutinizes intrafamily loans and may recharacterize them as disguised gifts subject

A quality education may be one of the best gifts to give a minor child or grandchild this holiday season.  As the cost of education continues to increase annually, families may be contemplating various gifting strategies to accumulate funds, minimize taxes and ultimately support younger generations with their future security and education goals.

Two popular

We are pleased to launch our speaker series, a break from the traditional podcast format, with our premier episode featuring Partner Vanessa Maczko who will detail where we are now with taxes and gifting, and where we are going. She discusses what is not a taxable gift and how to use your estate and gift

Congratulations, you just signed your Will and your Revocable Trust.  You set out clear directions on how your assets should pass at your death.  Your heirs will be grateful.  But there is more you can do to ease the burden of estate administration – you can fund your Revocable Trust while you are alive. Set

Wealthy individuals and families are increasingly incorporating charitable goals into their estate plan.  For donors who want to manage their philanthropic activities through longer-term vehicles, two of the most common options are donor-advised funds and private foundations.

Donor-Advised Funds

A donor-advised fund (DAF) is like a charitable savings account.  A donor opens and funds an

As we wrap up 2023, let us take a look back at some of the important estate planning topics that were discussed throughout the year. Our Partners Erin Nicholls and Michael Clear and their distinguished guests shared their expertise on a wide range of subjects, including Using Trusts for Your BeneficiariesSLATsEstate