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Peter Matwiczyk, Partner

Peter Matwiczyk has been practicing law in Palm Beach County for over thirty years. He has been Board Certified by The Florida Bar in wills, trusts, and estates since 1992, and has been AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell for more than thirty years. Mr. Matwiczyk has been a member of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (“ACTEC”) since 1992, where he has served, continuously, as a member of the Fiduciary Litigation Committee. He also currently serves as a member of the ACTEC Professional Standards Committee. He has been named a Florida Super Lawyer in Trusts and Estates Litigation for 12 years and has been listed in Best Lawyers for over 15 years.

Prior to establishing his practice in Palm Beach County, Mr. Matwiczyk was a senior trial lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service, Office of Chief Counsel, in Manhattan, in the Tax Court Litigation Division, where he tried approximately twenty cases in the United States Tax Court to decision.

Mr. Matwiczyk assists clients in the estate planning process and counsels families in complex trust administrations, estate administrations, disputes involving trust and estate administrations, and trustee and fiduciary misconduct. He also represents clients in guardianship litigation as well as disputes with the Internal Revenue Service and in Tax Court litigation. Mr. Matwiczyk routinely cooperates with lawyers from states other than Florida as co-counsel in connection with fiduciary litigation and trust and estate administration and litigation matters.

Mr. Matwiczyk has a decades long history of service to his community, where he has served as a member of the board of the Gulfstream Council Boy Scouts of America, the Palm Beach Zoo, where he also served as President, and the Board of Directors of public television station, WPBT, Channel 2, which serves the area from Miami through Vero Beach. He is currently serving his second ten-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, where he currently serves on the Executive Committee. Previously, he chaired the Investment Committee for the Foundation which has responsibility for managing an endowment of approximately $150,000,000.

His family includes his wife, Carol, his daughter and two grandsons. He is an avid fly fisherman and boater and his leisure time is spent studying and reading European and American history.

pmatwiczyk@bfmlaw.com

Areas of Practice

Estate Planning
Probate Litigation
Property Tax
Guardianships
Trust Litigation

Certified Legal Specialties

Wills and Estates, Florida Supreme Court
Board Certified Estate Planning and Probate, Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education

Bar Admissions

Pennsylvania, 1974
Florida, 1977
U.S. Tax Court

Education

New York University School of Law, New York, New York
- LL.M. - 1976
- Major: Taxation
University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Doctor of Jurisprudence - 1973
Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- B.A. - 1970

Honors and Awards

Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Council

Professional Associations and Memberships

Palm Beach County Bar Association, Tax, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Member
The Florida Bar, Tax, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Member
Pennsylvania Bar Association, Member
American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, Member, Fiduciary Litigation Committee
Dreher Park Zoo, Board Member and Past President
Boys' and Girls' Clubs of the Palm Beaches, Member. Board of Directors
Boy Scouts of American, Gulfstream Council, Member, Board of Directors
Franklin and Marshall College, Member, Alumni Board
American Bar Association, Tax Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, Member
American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, Professional Standards Committee, Member
Palm Beach Tax Institute, Founding Member and President, 1988 - Present
American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, Fellow
Florida Bar Grievance Committee, Chairman
East Coast Estate Planning Council, Board Member, 1983 - 1990
Executive Council, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section, 1984 - 1990
Florida Bar Grievance Committee, Member, 1984 - 1986
Palm Beach Tax Institute, Member, Board of Directors, 1982 - 1991
East Coast Estate Planning Council, Member, Board of Directors, 1983 - 1990

Past Employment Positions

Office of the Chief Counsel, Internal Revenue Service, 1974 - 1977
Holland & Knight, Partner, 1999 - 2004