Robert J. Kline

I have over two decades of estate and trust administration experience. During my career I have also spent six years as an appointed representative on the Florida Bar’s Probate Rules Committee. That experience is buttressed by the work I did early in my career as a senior trust officer with a national bank.

It’s been my honor and privilege to have been engaged in the practice of law for over two decades. My experience as an associate and partner level attorney at national and international law firms has provided me unique insights into the complexities of my chosen practice area – wills, trusts, probate, and taxation. I was also fortunate enough to work earlier in my career as a senior trust officer with a national trust company, which provided me with the knowledge and nuances unique to that industry. That knowledge has enhanced my ability to successfully advise both trustees and beneficiaries regarding their fiduciary rights and duties in a broad range of complex trust and estate cases. While I no longer carry the various regulatory investment licenses (Series 7, 66, 24, and Florida’s Life, Health and Annuities) often required of trust officers, that education and testing provided a depth of knowledge in trustee and fiduciary investment matters that allow me to analyze and resolve investment issues that sometimes surface in trust litigation.

Today, my practice continues to focus on estate planning including the preparation of all types of wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, health care designations, and other documents required to properly care for the personal and financial well-being of individuals and families. Much of my work in estate planning encompasses advanced planning designed to preserve wealth for future generations. Often the work we do with families involves tax planning, including matters pertaining to the Federal Estate and Gift Tax regime, as well as the Generation Skipping Transfer Tax. I have a Master’s of Law in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center, which assists me in advising individuals and families regarding the obligations and opportunities under the tax laws.

My work also encompasses probate estate and trust administration, taxation, beneficiary representation, and a broad range of probate estate, trust, and beneficiary litigation including the representation of personal representatives (executors), trustees, and beneficiaries in a broad range of fiduciary cases. I am also certified by the Florida Supreme Court as a Circuit Court Mediator, and my familiarity with the intricacies of wills, trust, tax, and fiduciary matters has been of great service to me in that endeavor. My peers in the legal profession have on occasion asked me to serve as an expert witness in fiduciary matters involving disputes over probate, trustee, and attorney fees, and I have obliged as my schedule has allowed.

I have been Florida Supreme Court certified Circuit Court Mediator for over ten years. My objective in mediating cases is to bring my two decades of experience as a trusts and estates attorney and a trust officer to the mediation process with the hope of having the clients seize and consider a meaningful opportunity to settle their cases, rather than continue to bear the expense associated with litigation. For this work, I offer a reduced hourly rate and a limited additional charge for travel only when it extends beyond the Tampa Bay area.

I continue to hold great enthusiasm for pro bono work, providing individual representation to low-income people, and local and national non-profit organizations who need and deserve a good lawyer. My spouse, Carol LoCicero, and I work with and support several hunger and homelessness programs in Tampa Bay, including our work starting a local branch of End 68 Hours of Hunger, a 501 (c)(3) organization that works with the public school system to identify kids who are hungry at home to feed them over the weekends.