Mark W. Beerman

Email:
Tel/Direct:
515-246-0301
Tel/Main:
515-243-7611
Address:
100 Court Avenue, Suite 600
Des Moines, IA 50309-2231
Assistant:
Rachel Ogden
515-246-4413
rachel.ogden@ahlerslaw.com
Practice Groups
Court Admissions
All Iowa Courts
U.S. District Courts – Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa
U.S. Court of Appeals – Eighth Circuit
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Supreme Court
Education
L.L.M., Taxation, Georgetown University College of Law, 1976
J.D., Valparaiso University College of Law, 1972
B.A., Valparaiso University, 1969
Bar Admissions
Iowa, 1973
Background
Now serving as Of Counsel with the firm, Mark joined the firm in 1977, became a partner in 1980, and focused his practice on trusts and estates, tax, corporate law, and employee benefits. Mark served for many years as the firm's chair of the Trusts, Estates & Personal Taxation Practice Group.
Mark has extensive experience in all aspects of estate planning, estate and trust administration, business succession planning and charitable planning. Mark’s other tax and general corporate practice involves a wide variety of matters, including the organization of entities, governance of closely-held businesses, mergers and acquisitions, employee benefits, and the design and drafting of deferred compensation plans. He has been involved in the planning and implementation of numerous taxable and nontaxable corporate transactions for family-owned and closely-held businesses, as well as advising owners on sophisticated estate and succession planning issues.
Mark was law clerk to the Honorable M. L. Mason, Justice, Iowa Supreme Court in 1973-1974 and was an attorney with the National Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. from 1973-1977. Mark is a native of Mason City, Iowa.
Representative Projects
- Analysis and development of estate plans for high net worth individuals and their families, and the preparation of wills, trust agreements, powers of attorney, prenuptial agreements, and other related documents necessary to implement such plan
- Administration of complex probate estates and trust estates, including the valuation of assets and the preparation of federal and state personal and fiduciary income, gift, estate, and generation-skipping tax returns
- Advising individuals and tax-exempt organizations on the use of charitable giving techniques that minimize gift, estate and income taxes
- Advising on the establishment and operation of corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and other entities for the ownership, management, protection, and transfer of assets
- Representation of fiduciaries and other taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and the Iowa Department of Revenue concerning income tax, estate and inheritance tax, property tax, and sales tax issues
- Advising private and public employers on the full range of executive compensation issues, including the design and preparation of SERPs and other deferred compensation plans, “rabbi trusts” (and similar funding structures), executive employment agreements, change in control agreements, incentive compensation agreements, and severance plans
- Advising universities, colleges and other tax-exempt organizations with respect to their unique compensation, retirement planning, and welfare benefits issues, including particularly with compliance under Internal Revenue Code sections 403(b) plans, 457(b) “eligible” plans, and 457(f) “ineligible” plans, and the application of Code section 409A
Memberships
Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
American Bar Association
Iowa State Bar Association
Polk County Bar Association
Recognitions
Martindale-Hubbell® – AV® Rating
Best Lawyers in America® – Trusts and Estates (2003-2025)
Super Lawyers Great Plains - Estate & Probate (2007, 2009-2024)
Professional, Community and Civic Leadership
Hospice of Central Iowa, Director
Friends of Botanical Center, Former Director
Iowa Sister States, Former Director