Susan L. Alexander

Susan Alexander is an Associate at Beresford Booth, and a member of its Estate Planning and Probate Group. Susan focuses her practice on designing and implementing estate plans for individuals and families. She has a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation, giving her additional expertise and insight into tax planning, which can lead to significant tax savings for her clients. She works with clients who have both moderate and large estates and specializes in tax-based planning for high-net-worth families and individuals who wish to utilize non-grantor trusts, split-interest charitable trusts, and other sophisticated mechanisms to reduce their estate tax exposure.

Susan takes pride in getting to know her clients to gain deeper understanding of their wishes. She works alongside other professionals who may be involved in her client’s finances and future planning to deliver an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to estate planning. She cares deeply about the people she represents and is a compassionate advocate for her clients.

Susan has recently returned to the Pacific Northwest after spending many years practicing law in California. Susan has over fifteen years of sophisticated, hands-on experience in trust and estate administration, trust and estate litigation, estate and gift tax advising, special needs planning, guardianships, conservatorships, probate matters and legal research. Before joining Beresford Booth, Susan served as Senior Counsel for several California law firms, spent 10 years successfully managing her own solo practice, and served as a diplomat for the U.S. Department of State for a decade. She also enjoyed short career sabbatical in which she lived in Paris, France, and Florence, Italy. Outside of the office, Susan enjoys kayaking, animal rescue, learning foreign languages, traveling and making European pastries

ADMITTED

  • Washington

EDUCATION

  • University of San Diego School of Law, LL.M, Taxation
    • Externship, USD Federal Tax Clinic
  • South Texas College of Law, J.D.
    • Judicial Clerk, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of Texas
    • Judicial Clerk, Judges, Harris County, Texas
  • University of California at Berkeley, B.A., Economics

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

  • Washington State Bar Association
  • The State Bar of California
  • State Bar of Texas