Blaine M. Searle is a Partner at Ferruzzo & Ferruzzo, LLP and serves as the chair of the firm’s corporate department.  As the chair, Blaine leads a team of colleagues specializing in entity formation, corporate governance, mergers, reorganizations, acquisitions and sales of businesses and representing closely-held businesses.  Blaine regularly negotiates and drafts contracts including buy-sell agreements, operating agreements, partnership agreements, tenants-in-common agreements and joint venture agreements.  Blaine enjoys counseling clients on the pertinent legal issues involved in the representation so that clients are able to make informed decisions.

Blaine received a master’s degree in taxation from Georgetown University, which makes him well suited to structure transactions in a manner to minimize taxes of all varieties.  He is frequently asked by clients and accountants to advise on a wide array of federal and state income tax issues including tax free reorganizations, choice of entity considerations, IRC § 1031 tax-free exchanges and structures to minimize state income taxes.  Blaine oversees all of the firm’s California property tax planning including structuring transactions and gifting strategies to avoid present and future property tax reassessments and he handles property tax appeals on behalf of his clients.

Blaine frequently counsels high net worth clients on various estate planning strategies to minimize estate, gift and income taxes including the implementation of intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts and qualified personal residence trusts.

As the department chair, Blaine leads and mentors a select group of colleagues to facilitate a wide range of transactions. No matter what kind of transactions absorb him, which include entity formation, corporate governance, mergers, reorganizations, acquisitions, and sales of businesses and representing closely held businesses, Blaine brings the personal touch to all his client interactions. Blaine’s negotiation ability shines as he drafts contracts including buy-sell agreements, operating agreements, partnership agreements, tenants-in-common agreements, and joint venture agreements.

Blaine’s education prepared him thoroughly to fulfill his current role. He received a master’s degree in taxation from Georgetown University, which enabled him to structure transactions to minimize all kinds of taxes. Clients and accountants frequently ask him for advice on a wide array of federal and state income tax issues including tax-free reorganizations, choice of entity considerations, IRC § 1031 tax-free exchanges, and structures to minimize state income taxes.

As a California-based professional, Blaine oversees all of the firm’s California property tax planning, including structuring transactions and gifting strategies to avoid present and future property tax reassessments. In addition, he handles property tax appeals on behalf of his clients.

Blaine’s talents go beyond the corporate. He frequently counsels high-net-worth clients; Blaine assists them with various estate planning strategies to minimize estate, gift, and income taxes, including the implementation of intentionally defective grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and qualified personal residence trusts. These are complex financial instruments, and Blaine explains them in clear, easy-to-understand language.