Katarinna McBride

Katarinna represents family companies, family offices, private trust companies and high net worth individuals and entrepreneurs. She was a partner at the largest tax & estate planning boutique law firm in the United States and has over 25 years of experience in estate planning, tax and succession planning for private clients and privately held businesses. Her former law partner, Louis S. Harrison, serves on the FOCUS Family Office advisory board. Katarinna works extensively with foundations, corporate and public charities, and charitable trusts with respect to administration, tax and planning issues. Katarinna and the attorneys at Focus Family Office Counsel serve as outside counsel, trustee, trust protector, agent, directors, committee members, and provide retainer-based and a la carte fiduciary services for families, family companies, and their trusts and charities.

Katarinna has been a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) since 2012, where she was a member of the program committee, a frequent speaker and content contributor, and now serves on the charitable planning and international estate planning committees. ACTEC membership is based on professional reputation, expertise in the fields of trusts and estates and on the basis of having made substantial contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing, teaching, being active in state legislation, and bar activities.

A frequent lecturer and author, Katarinna provides content for Trusts & Estates Magazine, having served on their advisory board, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and other state and local publications. Her speaking engagements have included presentations for the nation’s largest estate planning seminars, such as the Seattle Estate Planning Seminar, ACTEC Symposia, Notre Dame Tax & Estate Planning Institute, and the Hawaii Tax Institute.

Katarinna was the Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association's legislation committee, and served as the Editor of their publication for over a decade. She is a past Board Member of the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education and served on the Chicago Bar Association Trust Law and Probate Committees. Katarinna is a member of the planning board for the Chicago Estate Planning Council. Katarinna serves on the American Bar Association's Real Property, Trusts & Estates Section, as the Vice-Chair of the Non-Tax Considerations Group.

Katarinna is a Director at Large of STEP USA, the national organization overseeing the 18 branches and chapters of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) in the United States. STEP plays an important global role in educating families about inheritance and succession planning, as well as maintaining the highest professional standards among the trust and estate professionals who serve them. Katarinna was previously Chair of STEP Chicago and is a founder of STEP Colorado.

Katarinna was named as one of the Top 50 Women Attorneys in Illinois and has annually been honored as a Superlawyer since 2007. Katarinna is licensed in Colorado, the District of Columbia, Illinois and North Carolina and frequently works with local counsel to achieve planning, tax and structure objectives, in her capacity as general counsel or as the family's primary legal advisor.

Outside of work, Katarinna serves on the Planned Giving Advisory Committee of Chicago Community Trust, the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Joffrey Ballet, the Jewish United Fund, and the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Katarinna resides in Vail, Colorado, following her sons' aspirations to be world-class skiers, as members of Ski Club Vail's Alpine and Freestyle teams.