Michelle M. Porter
Director
Boston
mporter@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 4026Michelle M. Porter
Director, Boston
mporter@goulstonstorrs.com+1 617 574 4026Related Expertise
Clients turn to Michelle Porter for her expertise, sound judgment, and deeply personalized approach to estate and wealth planning. Known for her ability to translate complex legal and financial structures into clear, actionable guidance, Michelle builds long-term relationships with clients that are grounded in confidence, trust, and effective results.
Michelle’s practice spans all aspects of sophisticated estate planning for high net worth individuals and families. Her clients include business owners and executives, partners in private equity funds, real estate owners and developers, trustees, personal representatives, and estate and trust beneficiaries.
Michelle handles a broad range of estate and tax planning, trust and estate administration, business planning and charitable giving matters. She serves as a trusted advisor to her clients and makes it a priority to work collaboratively with other professional service providers retained by her clients, including accountants and investment advisors.
A Dedicated Trustee
In parallel to her planning services, Michelle also serves as a trustee for private trusts, is often actively involved in the investment of trust assets, and frequently provides family office and financial administration services.
Michelle serves as the Co-Managing Director of the firm.
Related Representative Matters
Establishment of sophisticated estate plans, which take both tax planning and personal objectives into consideration. Plans often include tax planning strategies through the use of gifting, irrevocable trusts, including creating and funding grantor retained annuity trusts and defective grantor trusts with assets expected to substantially appreciate.
Planning and implementing sales of assets to entities using leveraged gift planning.
Formulating charitable planning strategies for individuals and families of high net worth, handling negotiations of gift agreements, advising the administration of private foundations, and drafting charitable remainder trusts.
Handling post-mortem estate administration, including the preparation of complex tax returns for estates, which sometimes include large closely-held businesses and complex valuation issues.
Counsel to partners of private equity funds in connection with gifting through carried interest and other tax planning in the context of complex entity structures.
Serving as professional trustee handling investment allocations, administration of individualized trusts and coordination of family office services.
Providing advice on succession planning for privately-held companies. Work with corporate counsel to formulate appropriate approaches to maintaining existing business assets while planning for the family needs in the context of management succession. Assisting clients with important tax considerations and how those align with personal and professional goals for the business.
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Accolades
- Mass Lawyers Weekly, 2024 "Top Women of Law"
- Best Lawyers in America® (2023-2026): Trust and Estates
- Go To Trusts & Estates Lawyer, Mass Lawyers Weekly - 2021
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers "Rising Stars," 2006-2012
- Chambers High Net Worth (Band 1 Firm Ranking), 2017-2024
Affiliations
- Special Olympics of Massachusetts, Board Member
- The Boston Foundation, former Professional Advisors Committee
- Boston Estate Planning Council, Member
- Boston Bar Association, Trusts & Estates Section
- Clients' Security Board, Supreme Judicial Court, Former Chair
- Greater Boston Fiduciary Law American Inn of Court, Member
Admissions
- Massachusetts
Education
Notre Dame Law School ( J.D. , 1997 )
College of the Holy Cross ( B.A. , 1994 )