SUSAN R. SCHOENFELD, JD, LL.M. (Taxation), CPA, MBA is an Attorney and CPA, practicing in the area of estate planning. Susan is Principal and Associate Fiduciary Counsel in the Legacy Planning Department of Bessemer Trust, where she helps high net worth individuals and families develop and implement generational wealth transfer planning strategies. She also developed and facilitates Bessemer's Women and Wealth Workshops, designed to explore personal aspects of wealth, which in turn inspired a series of Next Generation of Wealth workshops. In addition, she runs Bessemer's donor advised fund, the Bessemer National Gift Fund, and also heads Bessemer's Northeast Region Trust Administration group.
Susan is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the Westchester County Bar Association.
She regularly speaks on estate planning matters, including recent presentations for ALI-ABA, National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC), Practising Law Institute (PLI), and the New York University Summer Institute in Taxation. She has chaired the Foundation for Accounting Education's Family Office Conference, Estate Planning Conference, and Annual Tax Conference numerous times.
Susan's article on Generation Skipping Transfer Tax was published in ALI-ABA Estate Planning Course Materials Journal (December 2010). She was extensively quoted in the Financial Times, March 25, 2008, Parents Must Put Children In The Know, By Ian Driscoll. She has authored numerous tax and estate planning articles published in professional journals, and wrote the Estate Planning column for Small Business Taxation magazine. Her other publications include Allocation of GST Exemption to Contributions to Life Insurance Trusts, CPA Journal, May 1999; Can Your Pet Be Trusted?, CPA Journal, July 1997; Post Mortem Estate Planning, Small Business Taxation, May 1989; reprinted in WG&L Tax News, Fall 1989; and Rehabilitation Credit, CPA Journal, May 1986.
She is Chair of the Family Office Committee and past Chair of both the Estate Planning Committee and the Tax Division Oversight Committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and previously served as the Society's Vice-President and on its Strategic Planning Task Force, Committee on Committee Operations and Awards Committee. Susan chaired the Estate Planning Committee of the Westchester Chapter of the NYS Society of CPAs; subsequently, she served as Chapter Officer and Executive Board member, and is past-President of that Chapter. She was awarded the Westchester Chapter President's Appreciation Award, and has four times received the Westchester Chapter's Appreciation Award.
In addition to her CPA, Susan was awarded an LL.M. (in Taxation) from NYU School of Law, a J.D. from Pace University School of Law, and BBA (summa cum laude) and MBA (with distinction) degrees in Accounting from Pace University.