B. J. Hickert has been practicing law since 1980.  His primary practice areas are estate and business planning, probate and trust administration, estate and gift taxation and tax litigation.

B. J. attended Benedictine College of Atchison, Kansas where he served as Student Government President and graduated in 1977 with Cum Laude honors.  He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1980.  For the first ten years of his career, B. J. litigated business disputes.  In 1990, B. J. joined the FDIC Professional Liability Section where he was responsible for the prosecution of claims against directors, officers, attorneys, accountants and other professionals, in an 11 state region.  After earning his LL.M degree in Taxation from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law in 1995, B. J. returned to private practice.  His fifteen years of business litigation experience and LL.M. in Taxation uniquely qualify B. J. to counsel business owners regarding complex legal issues and strategies.

PROFESSIONAL AND CIVIC AFFILIATIONS:

• Topeka Bar Association

• Kansas Bar Association (Tax; Real Estate, Probate & Trust; and Corporation, Bank and Business Sections)

• Douglas County Estate Planning Council

• Leadership Greater Topeka (2004)

• Knights of Columbus, Lawrence, KS, past Grand Knight and Director

PUBLICATION

• “Health Care: A Simple Prescription”, Tax Notes, February 20, 1995

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• Trustee Risks and Responsibilities, Lawrence, Kansas (2005)

• Legal Issues Involved in Structuring a Business, Overland Park, Kansas (2003 & 2004)

• Kansas Trust Course, Wichita and Overland Park, Kansas (2003 & 2004)

• Planning for Business, Topeka, Kansas (2004)

• Choice of Entity:  Coming of Age, Kansas City, Missouri (2003)

• Extracting “captured” Income from C-Corporations, Topeka, Kansas (2002)

• Kansas Estate Planning Course, Wichita and Overland Park Kansas (2002)

• Business Legal and Tax Planning, Topeka, Kansas (2002)

• Choice of Business Entity, Topeka, Kansas (2001)

• Long Term Care-A Legal and Financial Analysis, Topeka, Kansas (2001)

• Key Issues in Estate Planning and Probate, Topeka, Kansas (2000)

• Basic Probate Procedures and Practice in Kansas, Topeka, Kansas (2000)

• Family Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies, Topeka, Kansas (2000)

• Setting Up a Small Business, Topeka, Kansas (1999)

• Kansas Probate: Beyond the Basics, Topeka, Kansas (1999)

• Planning for Long-Term Care, Wichita, Kansas (1998)

• Taxation of Repossessed Real Estate, Topeka, Kansas (1998)

• Family-Owned Business Exclusion, Lawrence, Kansas (1998)

• I.R.C. Section 482 -- Taxation of Controlled Entities, UMKC School of Law (1995)

• Practical Litigation Issues, Boston, Massachusetts (1994)