InterActive Legal is proud to acknowledge that two of its Advisors have been recognized by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC) for their outstanding contributions to the estate planning community.

Congratulations to Natalie B. Choate for receiving the Hartman Axley Lifetime Service Award*, and to  Alan S. Gassman for being inducted into the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame®** and for receiving the Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished) designation. 

*The Hartman Axley Lifetime Service Award honors those who have made significant contributions to the estate planning community and who are also vital to the development and success of NAEPC.  

**The NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame® award is given in recognition of distinguished service to the field of estate planning.

Natalie B. Choate, Esq.

Natalie B. Choate practices law in Boston, Massachusetts, with the firm of Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP. Her practice is limited to consulting on estate planning and retirement benefits matters. Her books Life and Death Planning for Retirement Benefits and The QPRT Manual are leading resources for estate planning professionals.

Miss Choate is a former chairman of the Boston Bar Association Estate Planning Committee, which she founded in 1981, and its ERISA and Employee Benefits Law Committee, from 1990-1992. She is a former Regent of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and former Chairman of its Employee Benefits Committee. She is a member and former officer of the Boston Probate and Estate Planning Forum. She was named “Estate Planner of the Year” by the Boston Estate Planning Council, and was one of the first 10 attorneys to receive the “Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner” award from the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils. She is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

She is an editorial advisor for several professional periodicals: Trusts and Estates, Ed Slott’s IRA Advisor, The Leimberg Information Service Employee Benefits Newsletter and Keeping Current. Her articles have been published in ACTEC Notes, Trusts and Estates and Estate Planning magazine. She is a contributing author and former coeditor of the book Drafting Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts. She authors a monthly column on retirement benefits for MorningstarAdvisor.com.

Miss Choate has taught professional-level courses in estate planning for ALI-ABA (the American Law Institute-American Bar Association), American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, International Association of Financial Planners, MCLE, the Boston and Massachusetts Bar Associations, and other organizations, and has spoken at the Heckerling, Notre Dame, Heart of America, New England, Southern California, Mississippi, Southern Federal, and many other Tax Institutes. She has lectured in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Her comments on estate and retirement planning have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Forbes, Financial Planning, USA Today, and Financial World magazines.

A Boston native, she is a graduate of Radcliffe College and Harvard Law School.

Alan S. Gassman, Esq.

Alan S. Gassman is the founder of the Clearwater, Florida law firm of Gassman, Crotty and Denicolo, P.A., which focuses on the representation of high net worth families, physicians, and business owners, and their companies in estate planning, taxation, and business and personal asset structuring.

Mr. Gassman is the lead author on Bloomberg BNA’s Estate Tax Planning in 2011 and 2012, Gassman and Markham on Florida and Federal Asset Protection Law, Florida Law for Tax, Business & Financial Planning Advisors, Eight Steps to a Proper Florida Trust and Estate Plan, A Practical Guide to Kickback & Self-Referral Laws for Florida Physicians, The Florida Power of Attorney & Incapacity Planning Guide, The Florida Advisor’s Guide To Counseling Same Sex Couples, and a co-author of the recently published Legal Guide To NFA Firearms and Gun Trusts, among others.

Mr. Gassman is a frequent speaker for continuing education programs, and has published well over 200 peer reviewed articles with publications such as Bloomberg BNA Tax & Accounting, Trusts and Estates Magazine, Estate Planning Magazine, The Florida Bar Journal, and Leimberg Estate Planning Network (LISI). He is also a past President of the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council and has co-chaired two annual Florida Bar programs for over fifteen years: Wealth Protection and Representing the Physician.

Mr. Gassman holds a law degree and a Masters of Law degree (LL.M.) in Taxation from the University of Florida, and a business degree from Rollins College. Mr. Gassman is board certified by the Florida Bar Association in Estate Planning and Trust Law, has the Accredited Estate Planner designation from the National Association of Estate Planners & Council, has maintained an AV rating from the Martindale-Hubbell for over 20 years and is listed in both Best Lawyers in America and Florida Super Lawyers.