Taylor R.D. Briggs

Taylor R. D. Briggs is an associate with the firm and concentrates her practice in estate planning, Orphans’ Court litigation, trust and estate beneficiary representation, and tax controversy.

Taylor works with clients to draft estate plans including wills, trusts, business succession plans, health care powers of attorney, and durable powers of attorney. She has a holistic approach that includes advising clients on avoiding common mistakes, getting ahead of potential problem children, and preparing loved ones for their roles as fiduciaries. Taylor believes in making sure her clients understand how their estate plans work and the tax and legal consequences for potential changes to their estate plans.

She regularly assists executors and trustees in all phases and aspects of estate and trust administration, including preparing complex Pennsylvania inheritance tax returns, preparing and presenting accountings for review by the court, and helping fiduciaries obtain releases from liability. Because of her detailed knowledge of the administration process and statutes, Taylor often advises and advocates for beneficiaries of trusts and estates on their rights. She believes that being a beneficiary is confusing and that most fiduciaries and their attorneys fail to adequately answer reasonable questions leading to distrust and further hurt during the difficult loss of a loved one. Her philosophy is that effective communication can solve most issues and strives to ensure that her clients receive answers to their questions.

As part of advising both fiduciaries and beneficiaries, Taylor also handles various kinds of litigation and negotiations of estate and trust disputes involving objections to accountings, petitions to remove executors and trustees, enforcement of settlement agreements, contracts, and real property. Taylor also handles tax controversy matters and works with accountants to resolve tax issues for clients including non-filer cases, requests for abatement of penalties, hobby loss rules, and fraud.

Taylor earned her J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and her B.A. from Lehigh University. Taylor is originally from Minnesota where she grew up working at her family’s marina and boat dealership. In high school, she was a nationally ranked debater and a mathlete. At Lehigh, Taylor volunteered for Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley and served on the University Committee on Discipline reviewing appeals of violations of the Lehigh University Code of Conduct. While attending law school, she served as law clerk at a boutique immigration law firm assisting immigrants with applications for asylum. Today, Taylor is an active member of the Northampton County Bar Association (NCBA) where she gives Continuing Legal Education courses on estate planning and administration ethics to other attorneys. She is also on the board of directors for the Lehigh University Lawyers Association (LLA) and co-Chair of the LLA Membership and Communications Committee. Taylor serves as the Briggs family representative on the selection committee of the internationally recognized Darlene Briggs Marine Woman of the Year Award and presents the award annually at Dealer Week for the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. Taylor enjoys skiing, golfing, and of course boating!