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Kelly Phillips Erb, Esq.

Kelly Phillips Erb is an attorney and shareholder with the Erb Law Firm, PC. She has both her JD and LL.M. in Taxation from Temple University School of Law. Her primary practice area is tax law including: tax planning for corporations; domestic and international tax planning; formation and administration of nonprofit and charitable organizations; tax compliance work and tax controversy matters such as delinquencies, offers in compromise and audits. (Profile in PDF)

Kelly is a member of the bars of Pennsylvania and New Jersey and is licensed to practice in front of the U.S. Tax Court.

Kelly graduated from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, NC, before heading to Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. While at law school, Kelly interned at the estates attorney division of the Internal Revenue Service. At the IRS, she participated in the review and audit of federal estate tax returns, even leading in a successful audit.

During law school Kelly worked part-time an AV-rated boutique tax firm in Haddonfield, New Jersey, specializing in estate and gift tax planning. After graduation, she became an associate with the firm. There, she prepared estate, gift and fiduciary returns, drafted estate planning documents, and administered estates. She left New Jersey to take a position at Commonwealth Trust Company in Wilmington, Delaware, where she prepared gift and fiduciary returns and worked with attorneys in establishing and administering asset protection, business and dynasty trusts.

Kelly left Delaware for a Center City law firm in Philadelphia, PA, where she managed the estates department. There she drafted estate planning documents for high net worth individuals as well as participated in estate and fiduciary tax compliance work.

She is a member of the American Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association (Solo and Small Firms Section Council; Real Property, Probate and Trust Sections; Women in the Profession and Charitable Organizations Committees) and Tax Supper Club of Philadelphia. Kelly is a participating attorney with Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, where she was recognized as a 2005 Outstanding Volunteer. Kelly also assists with Senior Law Project and Philly VIP, as well as serving as a site coordinator for IRS' Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.

Kelly presents regularly on a wide range of topics before local and national organizations. She previously served as adjunct faculty for Community College of Philadelphia teaching the Wills and Trust course for CCP's ABA-approved Paralegal Studies program.

In 2006, Kelly was appointed President of the Roxborough Development Corporation, where she served until 2008. She was instrumental in the RDC's successful Business Breakfast series which has attracted such high profile speakers as Congressman Chaka Fattah, Councilman Michael Nutter, Pennsylvania Representative Kathy Manderino and former Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker.

Kelly currently authors a popular tax blog at taxgirl.com and writes a monthly tax column for The Legal Intelligencer, the nation's oldest legal journal. She also advises on tax issues for the Dow Jones site, FiLife.com.

Kelly enjoys being a mom to her daughters, Katie and Amy, and son, Charlie. This includes serving on the Home & School and Green Committees for Cook Wissahickon, where daughter Katie is a first grader, and maintaining a blog for Amy and Charlie's preschool.

When not working, chasing the kids or volunteering, Kelly enjoys working in the garden, hiking, wine tasting, writing and camping. She likes to travel as much as possible, having visited many of our 50 states (and Puerto Rico) as well as travels abroad to Asia and Europe. She's also a self-confessed BBCAmerica and HGTV junkie, watching as much as her schedule allows.

Contact Information

To contact Kelly, e-mail or call 215.508.4419, ext. 305.

You can follow her on twitter at twitter.com/taxgirl

Get LinkedIn here.

Kelly Phillips Erb

presentations | courses | publications | press | awards

upPresentations

• Don't Fear the Tax Man, Panel Discussion, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA (February 17, 2006)

• Tax and Business Issues for Performance Artists, Guest Lecturer for Business of Dance/Business of Music, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA (February 16, 2006)

• Drafting Fundamental Estate Planning Documents, Workshop Leader, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, PA (April 5, 2005)

• Don't Fear the Tax Man, Panel Discussion, Moore College of Art, Philadelphia, PA (Annually, 2003 through 2005)

• Taxation for Nonresidents and Resident Aliens, Guest Lecturer for Business Immigration, Temple School of Law, Philadelphia, PA (Annually 2004 to present)

• The Tax Scene, Villanova Sports and Entertainment Journal Symposium on Theatre Law, Villanova, PA (April 12, 2003)

• Taxation for the Freelance Artist, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA (March 21, 2002)

• Tax Tips for Seniors, Interac Community Center, Philadelphia, PA (March 11, 2002) (materials available on this site)

• How to Keep Your Art Out of the Garage Sale: Estate Planning for the Visual Artist, Panel Discussion, College Art Association, Philadelphia, PA (February 23, 2002)

• Aspects of International Estate Planning: Qualified Domestic Trusts, Philadelphia Tax Supper Club, Duane Morris, Philadelphia, PA (February 6, 2002) (materials available on this site)

• Medicaid Benefits: Eligibility and the PA Estate Recovery Act, Interac Community Center, Philadelphia, PA (January 23, 2002)

• Living Wills and Powers of Attorney, presentation at Interac Community Center, Philadelphia, PA (October 2, 2001) (materials available on this site)

upCourses

• Use of Trusts in Estate Planning: Basic and Intermediate Trusts. Course Planner and Presenter. Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Atlantic City, NJ. (planned, August 18, 2006)

  Taxes Affecting Decedent's Estates. Course Planner and Presenter. Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Philadelphia, State College, Mechanicsburg and Pittsburgh. (November 2005 through January 2006)

• The Probate Process. Topics include Probate Court Issues, Will Contests, Estate Administration, Preparation and Filing of Inheritance and Estate Tax Returns. Estate Law Institute presented by the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (Annually, 2002-2006)

• Wills and Trusts. Paralegal Studies Program. Adjunct Professor, Community College of Philadelphia (Spring and Fall Semesters, online and in class, 2003 through present)

• Operating a Nonprofit. How and why to incorporate your nonprofit organization, how to obtain an EIN, draft your By-laws for compliance with IRS guidelines and choose your Board and Officers, as well as filing for tax-exempt charitable status and administrative issues to keep your nonprofit in compliance such as annual federal and state tax filings. Mount Airy Learning Tree (May 2005; January 2005; May 2004; May 14-28, 2003; April 23-May 7, 2002)

• Advanced Probate for Pennsylvania Paralegals. Topics include How to Prepare and File the Inventory, Ethics, Responsibilities for Fiduciaries, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax. National Business Institute/Institute for Paralegal Education (December 16, 2003)

• The Probate Process for Pennsylvania Paralegals: From Start to Finish. Topics include How to File an Estate in Probate Court, Working with Executors and Administrators, How to Prepare and File the Inventory, Administration of the Estate, Dealing with Spouse's Elective Shares, Understanding the Laws of Intestacy, and Closing the Estate. National Business Institute/Institute for Paralegal Education (January 15, 2003)

upPress

• Before It's Too Late, Forbes, June 9, 2003 (site requires free registration)

• When Baby's On Board, American Bar Association Journal (November 2002)

• Profile, Temple University School of Law Graduate Tax Brochure for potential LL.M. students (2002)

• Profile, Meredith College Alumni Magazine (Summer 2001)

upAwards

• Outstanding Volunteer of the Year, Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, 2005