Professionals
206.816.1473 
206.464.0125 
Akane Suzuki focuses her practice on a broad range of estate planning matters, from Wills and powers of attorney to complex gifting strategies and business succession, charitable giving, and international estate planning. Her experience includes wealth transfer strategies involving trusts, such as generation skipping trusts, personal residence trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, and life insurance trusts, as well as family limited liability companies. She also advises clients on probate and trust administration matters and preparation of gift and estate tax returns. A large portion of her practice involves working with non-U.S. citizens living in the U.S. and U.S. citizens and others living abroad to assist them with their inheritance and/or gifting needs and related tax matters.
Ms. Suzuki has been recognized by her peers and clients as an AV Peer Review Rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, as a "Super Lawyer," "Rising Star," and one of "Top 50 Washington Women Super Lawyers" by Washington Law & Politics magazine, and as one of Seattle's top "Forty Under 40" professionals and community leaders by Puget Sound Business Journal. She is listed in The Best Lawyers In America in the area of Trusts and Estates, and in Martindale-Hubbell's Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers.
Ms. Suzuki is the Co-Chair of the Estate Planning, Probate, and Estate Litigation Group of Garvey Schubert Barer, and currently serves as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
Professional Activities
- Fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; Member, International Estate Planning Committee
- Officer and Co-Founder of the Seattle Chapter, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)
- Executive Committee, Estate Planning Council of Seattle
- Executive Committee Member, Washington State Bar Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Section, 2010-2012
- Member, Washington Women in Tax
- Member, Washington State Bar Association Tax Section
- Member, King County Bar Association
Community Activities
- Board Member, Japan Business Association of Seattle, 2009-2010
- Founding Board Member, Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association of Seattle (MAMAS)
- Member, Japan-America Society of the State of Washington
- Member, Nichibei Women's Network
Publications
- "The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012," Garvey Schubert Barer Legal Update, January 31, 2013.
- "Most Amazing Gifting Opportunity in History About to Disappear?," Garvey Schubert Barer Legal Update, September 17, 2012.
- "Cross-Border Estate Planning Considerations for the United States and Canada," Garvey Schubert Barer Legal Update, July 12, 2012.
- "Summary of Changes in Federal Estate and Gift Taxes," Garvey Schubert Barer Legal Update, January 26, 2011.
- "IRS Approves Income-Splitting for Registered Domestic Partners Subject to Community Property Laws," Garvey Schubert Barer Legal Update, June 10, 2010.
- "2010 Estate Tax and Related Tax Law Changes," Garvey Schubert Barer Legal Update, January 29, 2010.
- "Can You Inherit Debt?," You Maga, November 2009.
- "Basic Estate Planning and Probate Japanese-language Column," Junglecity.com, 2004-2005; 2009.
- "Estate Planning Practice Alert," WSBA Real Property, Probate and Trust Section Newsletter, Winter 2007/2008.
