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200 Public Square
Suite 2800
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
M. Patricia Culler focuses her practice on wealth transfer and business succession planning, wills, trusts and estates, and tax. She has extensive experience in sophisticated estate planning, charitable gift planning, prenuptial agreements, estate settlement, trust administration and fiduciary litigation. She also works with clients on tax matters relating to trusts and estates, including income, gift, estate and generation-skipping taxes.
With more than 30 years of experience, Patricia’s practice covers a full spectrum of services, from planning and drafting to trust and estate administration, and serves clients with moderate wealth as well as clients with ultra-high net worth, in excess of $100 million. Her broad experience includes implementing complex plans involving multigenerational trusts, charitable trusts, grantor-retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, installment sales to grantor trusts and other sophisticated planning techniques. She frequently assists clients in modifying existing trusts using trust decanting, private agreements and court-approved modifications.
In addition, Patricia represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in trust and estate disputes and settlements, and represents clients before the IRS in estate and gift tax audits and private letter ruling requests. She also represents clients before the IRS Appeals Office and in the United States Tax Court in tax controversies, and supervises the preparation of federal estate tax returns for Hahn Loeser’s Ohio offices.
Patricia is an OSBA Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law and has participated in numerous state, local and national speaking engagements on trust and estate, tax and other related topics. She was also the principal author of Ohio’s trust decanting statute, which was enacted in 2013.
National Alliance on Mental Illness Greater Cleveland (NAMI): Former Member, Board of Directors; Past Secretary, NAMI Cuyahoga County
Notre Dame Club of Cleveland, Member
Distinguished Estate Planner of the Year, Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, 2010
Chambers and Partners HNW Guide, Band 1 in Private Wealth Law, 2016-24
The Best Lawyers in America®, Trusts and Estates, 2003-25; Litigation-Trusts and Estates, 2011-25; Tax Law, 2024-25; Cleveland Lawyer of the Year – Trusts and Estates, 2017; Cleveland Lawyer of the Year – Litigation-Trusts & Estates, 2014, 2016
Ohio Super Lawyers®, Estate Planning and Probate Law, 2004-24; Top 25 Women Cleveland, 2007-09, 2012-16, 2018-19, 2021-22; Top 50 Women Ohio, 2004-16, 2018-19, 2021-22; Top 50 Cleveland, 2004-09; 2012; Top 100 Ohio, 2004-08, 2010-12
Who’s Who Legal, Private Client, 2014-15
AV Preeminent ®, Martindale-Hubbell
State of Ohio, 1985
U.S. Tax Court, 2002
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow and Past Regent; State Chair, Ohio, 2005-2010; Estate & Gift Tax Committee, State Laws Committee, Membership Selection Committee
OSBA Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section Council, Council Member, 2002-present
Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, Member, 1986- present; Distinguished Estate Planner Award Committee, 2011-2015, Former Trustee
Ohio State Bar Association, Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section, Member, 1985-2015
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Law Section, Member, 1985- present
OSBA Estate Planning Trust & Probate Specialization Board, Specialty Board Member, 2005-09.