Michael G. Kirkman, CPA, Partner

Mike is a Certified Public Accountant and a Tax Partner at CB&H with over 20 years of tax planning and compliance experience. As the Firm Director of Estates & Trusts, Mike advises closely held and family-owned companies in the development and implementation of strategic tax plans designed to maximize inheritable assets, while anticipating growth and accommodating the inevitability of future change.

Based in the Firm’s Charlotte practice, Mike focuses his practice by working with clients to review the structure of their current estate plans, including wills, trusts, property ownership, insurance and asset allocation, and develop strategic options that will best minimize transfer taxes and maximize available assets that can be passed on to chosen heirs. He also has extensive fiduciary income tax planning experience.

In addition, Mike has assisted clients in developing advanced multi-generational plans designed to yield significant estate tax savings and take maximum advantage of complex generation skipping rules. Once a plan has been developed, Mike then works with the client’s attorney and other professional advisors to fully implement recommendations that ensure the proper execution of the plan and provide future compliance assistance as situations and tax laws evolve.

Prior to joining CB&H, Mike was president of Old North State Trust, where he led a team that reorganized from a registered investment advisory firm into a North Carolina chartered trust company that provided investment management, fiduciary and tax services. In that role, Mike was responsible for the company’s overall strategic development and direction while working within the organization’s Tax Services and Consulting division. He also previously was a tax partner with BDO Seidman, where he served as a member of the firm’s National Family Wealth Planning Group for 15 years.

Mike received his Master of Science in Taxation with a concentration in Estate, Gift and Trust from Fordham University, and his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from High Point University. Licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in the state of North Carolina, Mike is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA).