Kelly Phillips Erb

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.

She authors the highly-regarded tax blog taxgirl.com, named by the ABA Journal as one of the best legal blogs for the past two years. She has written recently for Forbes, Intuit and the Legal Intelligencer, to name a few, and served as AOL’s tax guru for its personal financial site, WalletPop, during the most recent tax season. You can view some more press here.

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.

Kelly 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 has also assisted 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.

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 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 Elementary School.

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

Presentations
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)

Courses
• International Estate Planning, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, PA (2010)
• Death and Taxes, Course Planner, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Multi-City (Annually)
• 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)