ABOUT GARDNER LAW
Shareholder
Peggy K. Gardner uses sophisticated and creative planning techniques to help her clients reduce taxes, preserve wealth, and meet their personal, family, and business goals.
Prior to beginning her legal career, Peggy practiced as a CPA in the audit and tax departments of the “Big Eight” accounting firms of Arthur Young and Coopers & Lybrand where she conducted complex audits and tax planning and compliance work. In her legal practice, Peggy applies her tax and accounting background, as well as her business law experience, to assist families with their estate planning, estate administration and related matters.
She has been recognized by her peers as a Super Lawyer and is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and EstateCounsel (ACTEC).
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
"Navigating Changes to the Irrevocable Trust," Co-Presenter, Estate Planning Council of Colorado Springs, CO, March 20, 2018
"Drafting for the Client’s Goals," Program Chair, Presenter, and Moderator, Colorado Bar Association CLE on Orange Book Forms, Colorado Estate Planning Forms, Denver, CO, December 8, 2017
"Is the Irrevocable Trust Really Irrevocable?," Co-Presenter, Advanced Estate Planning Symposium with Ted Atlas, Colorado Bar Association CLE, Denver, CO, October 12, 2017
"Are you Ready to Die? Estate Planning," Presenter and Panelist, Women, Wealth, and Wisdom Workshop sponsored by Penrose – St. Francis Health Foundation and Pikes Peak Library Foundation, Colorado Springs, CO, March 25, 2017
"Hot Fiduciary Litigation Topics," Co-Presenter, Estate Planning Council of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, February 21, 2017
"Flexibility and Inflexibility in Utilizing Disclaimers," Presenter, The American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education Estate Planning in Depth Program, Madison, WI, June 28, 2016
"Hot Topics in Fiduciary Litigation and Administration," Co-Presenter, Colorado Bar Association Trust and Estate Section CLE Luncheon Series, December 1, 2015
"Disclaimers Revisited: Qualified and Non-Qualified Disclaimers Under the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act," Presenter, Colorado Bar Association CLE Estate Planning Retreat, Santa Fe, NM, June 12-13, 2015
"Are You a Referral Source for a Trust and Estate Litigator?," Co-Presenter, Colorado Bar Association CLE, Denver, CO, November 7, 2014
"Use of Disclaimers in Estate Planning," Presenter, Estate Planning Council of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO, November, 2012
"Estate Administration Procedures," Presenter, National Business Institute, Colorado Springs, CO, June 25, 2012
"Federal Disclaimers: What You Need to Know, The Opportunities and the Potential Pitfalls," Presenter, Colorado Bar Association CLE on Advanced Estate Administration: Sophisticated Strategies for Your Trust and Estate Practice, Denver, CO, February 1, 2012
PUBLICATIONS
"Is the Irrevocable Trust Really Irrevocable?," 47 The Colorado Lawyer 56, October 2018
"Fiduciary Litigation Trends," Winter 2017 Colorado Trust and Estate Section Council Notes, December 15, 2017
"Selection and Implementation of Marital and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Formulas," 43 The Colorado Lawyer 43, September 2014
RECOGNITION
Fellow in The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).
Super Lawyer designation
Portia Award Recipient, El Paso County Women's Bar Association, 2017 (recognizes an outstanding woman lawyer for her services in the community)
PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC AFFILIATIONS
- Colorado Bar Association, Trust and Estate Section Council—Member
- Colorado Bar Association, Trust and Estate Section - Estate Planning Forms Committee (Commonly referred to as the Orange Book Committee), Past Chair
- Forms Review Sub-Committee, Past Chair
- Disclaimer Sub-Committee, Past Chair
- Power of Appointment Sub-Committee, Past Member
- Joint Trust Sub-Committee, Past Member
- QDOT Sub-Committee: drafted updated QDOT language, Past Member
- Notes on Use Sub-Committee, Past Member and Co-Chair
- Beneficiary Deed Sub-Committee, Chair
- Colorado Bar Association, Trust and Estate Section—Statutory Revisions Committee:
- Uniform Directed Trust Act Sub-Committee, Past Member
- Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act Sub-Committee, Member
- Colorado Bar Association, Trust and Estate Section – Rules and Forms Committee
- Practitioner’s Forms Sub-Committee, Chair
- Deeds Sub-Committee, Chair
- Estate Planning Council of Colorado Springs, Member, Past President, 2007-2008
- Certified Public Accountant (inactive Texas license)
- National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, Council Relations Committee, Past Member
- American Bar Association, Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust, Member
- El Paso County Bar Association, Probate Section, Member
- National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), U.S. Tax Litigation Course, Graduate
- Discover Goodwill of Southern and Western Colorado Foundation, Board Member
- Discover Goodwill of Southern and Western Colorado, Operating Board
- Board of Directors, Past Chair, 2011
- Past Board Member, 2005-2013
- Court Care of the Pikes Peak Region Board, Board Member
- Court Appointed Special Advocates, Pikes Peak Region, Strategic Investment Committee, Past Member
- Peak Vista Foundation, Planned Giving Committee, Past Member
- Peak Vista Foundation, Community Benefit Initiative, Past Member
- Junior League of Colorado Springs, Treasurer and Past Board Member
- Center for Creative Leadership, Leadership Training Program, Graduate
- Professional Advisors Council Committee, sponsored by Pikes Peak Community Foundation, Past Member
- Peak Vista Community Health Centers Philanthropic Advisory Committee, Member
