Jim Wagenmann has been a Member of the firm since 1984, and he has more than 35 years of experience providing financial and business advisory services to a variety of law and professional services firms, as well as high net worth individuals and business owners. In his current role with Watkins Meegan, Jim advises clients on a variety of tax issues and specializes in employee benefit consultation and estate and trust planning and compliance.

Jim has specialized in retirement plans and employee benefits since starting his career in 1973, just one year before ERISA was made the law of the land for employee benefits. This experience has established him as an expert regarding legislation and regulations affecting virtually all employee health and welfare benefit programs offered to employers. Currently, he works with business leaders and other professionals to analyze and install employee benefit programs suited to the goals and objectives of their organizations.

Jim also works with clients on tax, financial planning and wealth preservation issues. He has developed sophisticated estate planning vehicles for clients with a net worth of many millions of dollars, and he has implemented creative uses of trusts and other entities to help clients accomplish their goals. Additionally, he is familiar with the uses of insurance and charitable giving in the estate planning area and he has an in-depth understanding of the requirements of preparing an estate tax return. Jim has also dealt with the effects of gifting in the estate-planning area and has helped many clients establish gifting programs to maximize the transfer of wealth to the next generations.