The Zimmer Law Firm offices are conveniently located in Blue Ash at 4540 Cooper Road, just 1/3 mile east of Reed Hartman Highway and in-between Reed Hartman Highway and Kenwood Road. Easy access is available from I-71, I-75, and Ronald Reagan Cross County Highway.
Barry H. Zimmer founded THE ZIMMER LAW FIRM in June 1993, to practice in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, and business succession planning. His goal was and continues to be helping clients understand and de-mystify the often confusing world of estate planning in an ever-changing society, and to implement effective estate planning with minimal effort and time investment. The firm works from the belief that planning should always be driven by purpose. As a result, there are no “canned” or pre-set planning solutions. Instead, Zimmer helps clients identify their goals first and then builds estate and business plans based on that understanding.
Mr. Zimmer also believes strongly in continuing education. He devotes substantial time and resources to staying up to date on the latest laws, trends and techniques. For example, he has developed a unique process based on the belief that IRA’s and employer-sponsored retirement plans require a specialized series of steps in order to achieve one’s objectives for inheritance of retirement accounts. This is due to the complex and changing laws and regulations affecting retirement accounts, and how retirement accounts interact with other assets and the overall process of planning one’s estate. These factors make retirement accounts unlike any other type of asset. Mr. Zimmer’s Retirement Plan Preservation Process<sup>™</sup> builds an Estate Plan for the IRA and Qualified Retirement Plan within the overall estate plan, in order to address the legal uniqueness of retirement accounts. This process includes identifying, preventing, and correcting typical retirement plan owner mistakes and arbitrary rules imposed by retirement plan Custodians and Administrators that can interfere with the estate plan for the retirement account. It also involves identifying the powerful leverage of wealth in retirement accounts that is possible through multiple generations because of the uniqueness of those accounts. The use of a Family Retirement Preservation Trust™ either as part of the regular Living Trust, or as a stand-alone Living Trust for retirement accounts, only, allows the power of the retirement account to be tapped and channeled for each client and his or her family. It also offers more options and flexibility for the retirement account owner than traditional types of planning.
The Retirement Plan Preservation Process<sup>™</sup> is built on the techniques taught by Ed Slott, one of the nation’s leading and most recognized experts in IRA planning, and the programs of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. Zimmer was among the first group of lawyers to receive specialized training from Ed Slott in July 2006, in a day long conference in Las Vegas open solely to members of the AAEPA.
Mr. Zimmer is also a founding member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys. The Academy is a limited membership organization that provides continuing legal education to members, and practice management support and training. The goal of the Academy is to help foster excellence in attorney member services to their clients. Zimmer has been actively involved in the Academy since its inception in 1993, including service on the Academy’s first Board of Governors and Education Advisory Board. He regularly attends specialized and advanced training by the experts in the Academy Education Department several times a year. This includes two national conferences sponsored by the Academy for its members, where Zimmer also networks with estate planning lawyers from across the country.
In addition, Zimmer attends numerous local and regional estate planning training courses each year on state and federal laws and developing techniques. He is certified to present Continuing Legal Education programs for financial professionals and CPA’s about estate planning issues and laws.
THE ZIMMER LAW FIRM offers a full range of planning services for estates of all sizes and complexity, including wills, living trusts, and advanced estate planning for tax savings and passing on family businesses. The greatest demand for services is Living Trust-centered estate plans. The firm helps clients protect themselves and their families from needless probate proceedings and costs, high estate taxes, and government and court interference in their estates. The firm also emphasizes the importance of keeping existing clients up to date through its Client Education Program. This includes free online quarterly newsletters, client seminars on timely and developing topics, a library of free reports and articles on select estate planning topics, an interactive web site rich with content, and a policy of cost-free meetings and phone calls concerning client estate planning matters. Zimmer takes special pride in the firm’s Client Events. These seminars are written by Zimmer and cover topics hand-picked to help clients keep their planning up to date and in step with the latest developments and laws.
Barry Zimmer believes that excellence in implementing trust-based estate plans is but one aspect of his responsibility to clients. Providing reliable guidance and service to families of clients who pass away is just as critical as sound planning at the front end. The firm is very active in settling trusts of all complexity and sizes, and handling probate cases and guardianship proceedings. Zimmer and his staff have successfully handled hundreds of trust estate cases, and are experienced in settling and distributing a wide variety of estate assets to heirs.
THE ZIMMER LAW FIRM has a staff of trained and experienced paralegal assistants and client support personnel. Barry H. Zimmer has been in private practice since receiving his law degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1979. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from U.C. with Honors, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa, in 1976. He was profiled in the 1990-1991 edition of Who’s Who in American Law for contribution to the betterment of contemporary society. Mr. Zimmer has lectured numerous times on legal topics, and authored several articles and Special Reports on estate planning. He is a former guest “columnist” on Simply Money, on 91.7 FM, WVXU Public Broadcasting. He makes occasional guest appearances on radio about estate planning topics, and has been quoted in newspaper articles and columns on estate planning matters.
Mr. Zimmer is a member of the Cincinnati and Ohio State Bar Associations. He is admitted to practice in all Ohio courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Federal District Court of the Southern District of Ohio. He is married with two children, and lives in Symmes Township.
Barry Zimmer also practices Family Wealth Counseling. Family Wealth Counseling is a revolutionary planning concept for those who have achieved financial success and wish to focus on the significance and uses of their wealth both during their lifetime and after death. Through FWC principles and techniques, wealthy individuals and families can actually take charge of their Social Capital, which is the contribution we all make to the welfare of the general population by paying taxes. Family Wealth Counseling techniques and plans allow clients to redirect their Social Capital to worthy causes that they choose instead of paying taxes and allowing the government to be in charge of their Social Capital. In the process, Family Wealth Counseling allows clients to reduce income tax, save estate taxes, increase income and increase wealth in the here and now. Ben Franklin was wrong — the old adage about death and taxes being unavoidable need not apply anymore because estate and capital gains taxes and sometimes even income taxes can often be avoided. Family Wealth Counseling helps people identify life’s purpose for their wealth and design a plan that centers around those virtues and values they find most important. For more information contact the firm’s office.
