Steven A. Widdes

"I like the emotional and intellectual aspects of what I do. It’s not just right or wrong - it’s about providing protection, and assisting our clients in meeting their goals, as well as goals for their children and future generations."







Steven A. Widdes

Principal

11 N. Washington Street
Suite 620
Rockville, Maryland 20850
301-838-3227 direct
301-354-8127 fax

swiddes@steinsperling.com

Steve Widdes’ approachable style not only helps put his clients at ease, it helps establish the kind of close relationships that allow him to build highly-individualized and effective estate plans that give his clients peace of mind. By working closely with his clients throughout the various stages of their lives, Steve helps them anticipate and manage their changing goals, address new tax laws and IRS regulations, and protect their assets. He is especially effective at navigating sophisticated plans that address issues unique to clients with substantial assets.

Steve is Co-Chair of the firm’s Estates and Trusts practice group and works with clients in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, and tax and business succession planning.  He also assists them in protecting assets for future generations through long-term trusts for children, as well as pre- and post-nuptial agreements. Previously an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service’s Estate and Gift Tax Branch, Rulings and Projects Sections, he brings considerable knowledge and experience of the tax issues affecting his clients’ estates and trusts.

Tax and estate planning groups frequently engage Steve to speak on such topics as post-mortem estate planning, estate planning with IRA distributions, business succession planning, tax planning for the practitioner, new income tax laws and practical and important developments in estate planning and probate. He also has lectured before the Georgetown University/D.C. Bar Association Estate Planning Program and served as the program’s chair for five years. In addition, other estate planning attorneys reach out to Steve on a regular basis for input on the application of particularly intricate techniques for their clients.

Honored as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and nationally accredited as an estate planner, Steve also serves on ACTEC’s Asset Protection Committee. With nearly 30 years of experience and successful estate planning, he has been frequently named as one of the Best Lawyers in America (2005-2013) and recognized annually as a Super Lawyer in both Maryland and Washington, D.C. since 2007. In 2013, Super Lawyers magazine listed Steve among the top 100 attorneys in Maryland and in 2011-2013 he was named among the top 100 attorneys in Washington, D.C. He also was named by Washingtonian magazine (2002-2011), Legal Times (2004) and Bethesda magazine (2011) as a top trusts and estates attorney in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

An active participant in the local community, Steve is a past co-chair of the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington’s Planned Giving Committee and a past vice-chair of its Board of Governors. He has also previously served on the Planned Giving Committee for Suburban Hospital. Steve currently serves on the Planned Giving Committee for the Jewish Social Service Agency and on the Endowment Planning Committee for Adat Shalon Reconstructionist Congregation.

  • EDUCATION Toggle

    • Drake University (B.A., with honors, 1973)
      Drake University (J.D., 1976)
      Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M.,Taxation, 1981)

  • MEMBERSHIPS + ACTIVITIES Toggle

    • Bar Association of Montgomery County
      Maryland State Bar Association
      American Bar Association, Section of Real Property and Probate
      Montgomery/Prince George's County Tax Study Group
      Estate Planning Council of Suburban Maryland
      District of Columbia Estate Planning Council
      Suburban Hospital, Planned Giving Committee (2002-2012)
      Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, Endowment Planning Committee (2011-2012)
      Jewish Social Service Agency, Planned Giving Committee (2011-2012)
      Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Board of Governors (1998-2011)
           Vice Chair (2009-2011)
      American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
           Asset Protection Committee

  • HONORS + AWARDS Toggle

    • Washingtonian magazine, Top Trust and Estate Lawyer (2002-2011)
      Legal Times, Leading Lawyer, Trusts and Estates (2004)
      Bethesda magazine, Top Trusts and Estates Attorney (2011)
      Best Lawyers in America (2006-2013)
      Maryland Super Lawyers magazine
           Top 50 Attorneys in Maryland (2010-2011)
           Top 100 Attorneys in Maryland (2012-2013)
           Maryland Super Lawyer (2007-2013)
      Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers magazine
           Top 100 Attorneys in Washington, D.C. (2009-2013)
           Washington, D.C. Super Lawyer (2007-2013)
      Martindale-Hubbell, AV Preeminent peer review rating