Gary Forster is managing partner and co-founder of ForsterBoughman.  Gary’s practice includes domestic and international corporate law, asset protection, tax, and estate planning.  Gary handles a wide variety of corporate and personal planning matters world-wide.

Gary spent the first decade of his career structuring and closing some of the largest corporate transactions in the region.  The mergers and acquisitions Gary consummated range from the national consolidation of regional US construction and transportation interests to real estate investment trusts, hospitals and surgical centers.  Gary is one of the few attorneys in Central Florida with experience in cross-border corporate transactions, including a variety of industries ranging from intellectual property concerns to international distribution and manufacturing interests.

Gary’s corporate work, with some of the most prominent companies and entrepreneurs in Florida and abroad, led him to expand his practice twenty years ago.  Successful clients require substantial tax, estate and asset protection planning.  Gary recognized that certain wealthy clients require a single partner contact, familiar with both business law and tax planning and structuring.  Gary serves that purpose. Gary has designed and drafted thousands of corporate documents, estate and asset protection plans.

Gary has written dozens of articles and three books.  In 2013, he wrote Asset Protection for Professionals, Entrepreneurs and Investors, a guide to asset protection strategies for clients and their financial advisors, now in its second edition.  In 2020, Gary finished the second edition of The U.S. Estate and Gift Tax and the Non-Citizen, which explains how resident and non-resident foreign nationals are impacted by the U.S. Estate and Gift Tax.  In 2021, Gary wrote The U.S. Wealth Transfer Tax and the Non-Citizen, a comprehensive law school textbook on the topic.

Gary writes and lectures nationally to state bar, financial and CPA groups on asset protection, international tax and corporate law.  He has also instructed classes at the University of Florida (Levin College of Law) and Rollins College (Crummer Graduate School of Business).  Gary’s articles can be found in such publications as the Florida Bar Journal and the American Bar Association’s Probate and Property Magazine.  For a listing of Gary’s recent speaking engagements, see below.

Gary’s legislative amendments were adopted as Section 43A of the Nevis LLC Ordinance – Nevis Limited Liability Company (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015.

Gary has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers® as one of The Best Lawyers in America® for the practice area of Tax Law.  He is rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell and speaks Spanish fluently.

Education

Gary earned a B. A. from Tufts University in 1990, graduating cum laude with majors in Economics and Spanish Literature.  Gary received his J.D. from the University of Florida College of Law, graduating with honors in 1993.  While in law school, he served as editor of the Florida Journal of International Law.  Gary continued his studies as a graduate fellow at the University of Florida College of Law, Masters of Taxation program, earning an LL.M. in 1994.  Gary’s education also includes studies at the University of Madrid, Oxford University and Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Memberships & Associations

Gary is a member of the Florida Bar (admitted in 1993), including bar sections for international and tax law, and the District of Columbia Bar (admitted in 1995), including bar sections for international and tax law. Mr. Forster is licensed to practice in the U.S. Tax Court and is a member of the American Bar Association Asset Protection Planning Committee. Gary has been involved in various civic organizations, including several chambers of commerce and served as President and Director of the International Council (a foreign affairs organization supported by the U.S. State Department).

Awards & Recognition

Gary has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report/Best Lawyers® as one of The Best Lawyers in America® for the practice area of Tax Law.  He has also been peer rated AV-Preeminent, the highest rating available, by Martindale-Hubbell.  In 2022, Gary received the Discussion Leader of the Year award from the FICPA (Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants).

Books Written By Gary Forster

• "The U.S. Estate and Gift Tax and the Non-Citizen" February 2016 (second edition July 2020)
• "Asset Protection for Professionals, Entrepreneurs & Investors" January 2013 (second edition December 2018)
• "The U.S. Wealth Transfer Tax and the Non-Citizen" November 2021