Career
David Pratt advises high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners on sophisticated estate and tax planning strategies designed to preserve wealth across generations. His practice focuses on trusts and estates; estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax; fiduciary and individual income taxation; and fiduciary litigation matters.
David counsels clients on structuring tax-efficient wealth transfers, including strategies to protect assets from creditors and in the event of divorce, and to maintain assets in the family. He regularly prepares prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and provides pre-divorce planning for individuals seeking to safeguard their financial interests. He also frequently advises business owners on succession planning, helping them navigate the complex dynamics of family-owned enterprises while minimizing transfer tax exposure.
As a trusted advisor to principals in private equity and hedge funds, physicians, and other professionals, David structures estate plans using family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, irrevocable trusts, and other vehicles to achieve tax efficiency and asset preservation. He also advises clients with significant retirement assets on maximizing income tax deferral and has helped establish numerous charitable remainder and lead trusts, as well as private foundations.
David is one of the few lawyers certified by The Florida Bar in both Tax Law and Wills, Trusts and Estates. He has chaired The Florida Bar’s Tax Section and has testified before the Internal Revenue Service on proposed regulations concerning retirement plan distributions.
In addition to his practice, David serves as an adjunct professor in the LLM program in estate planning at the University of Miami School of Law and was previously an adjunct professor in the LLM program in taxation at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, where he has served on the Board of Regents and was the inaugural Chair of the New Fellows Steering Committee.
David is very active in Jewish philanthropy, especially the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County (Boca Raton) and Birthright Israel. He holds leadership roles in these organizations, where he helps drive strategic initiatives in areas such as annual campaigns, planned giving, and endowments. A frequent lecturer and published author, David regularly speaks to legal and professional services audiences throughout the United States.
Professional Memberships
David is a Fellow in the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, has served on its Board of Regents and was the first Chair of the New Fellows Steering Committee. He is an adjunct professor at both the University of Miami Law School and the University of Florida's Levin College of Law, in their LL.M. programs. David also is a faculty member of the American Law Institute-American Bar Association. He is a commentator on Leimberg Information Services Inc., a well-known estate planning newsletter, circulated to many estate planning professionals across the country. He has published various articles in legal journals, and lectures extensively to other lawyers, professionals, and laypersons.
David is very active with his community. He is a Vice-Chair of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and a past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Jewish Federations of North America, where he served on the Planned Giving and Endowments Committee, and was Chair of the Planned Giving Initiatives Committee of the Jewish Federation of North America’s Philanthropic Resources Development Cabinet. David is a past Chair of the Professional Advisory Committee of both the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County. He is a member of the Jewish National Fund’s Legal Committee. David is also on the Board of the Tel-Aviv Foundation and Onward Israel.
