Johanna Wise Sullivan
- T. 617.439.2704
- F. 617.310.9000
- E. jsullivan@nutter.com
- Download full bio
Overview
Johanna Wise Sullivan is a partner in Nutter’s Private Client Department and co-chair of the firm’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. She advises a broad and sophisticated client base, including high net worth individuals and families, family business owners, private equity principals, and founders and other early stage investors, on the full spectrum of estate planning and estate and trust administration. Johanna designs and implements tailored planning strategies, with particular experience in the transfer of closely-held business interests, carried interest gift structuring, qualified small business stock (QSBS) planning, and philanthropic giving. Known for her thoughtful, practical, and forward-thinking approach, Johanna focuses on minimizing estate and gift tax exposure, preserving wealth, and facilitating seamless intergenerational transfers, with a comprehensive view toward estate, gift, and income tax implications.
Johanna represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries in connection with the administration of estates and trusts. She advises personal representatives and family members concerning post-mortem estate and tax planning, the probate process, preparation of estate tax returns, and representation in estate tax audits. She counsels trustees and beneficiaries in connection with ongoing trust administration, including tax considerations and compliance with fiduciary obligations. Johanna also has experience resolving ambiguities and disputes involving trusts through proceedings in the Probate & Family Court and non-judicial settlement agreements. In addition, Johanna serves as personal representative and trustee for clients.
Johanna assists private foundations with operation and compliance matters, such as the grantmaking and reporting processes, and advises clients on techniques for structuring charitable gifts.
Johanna serves on the board of the Center for Collaborative Education, a non-profit organization that promotes innovative models of schools and works to increase opportunities for all students. She also serves on the board of Spoonfuls, a Boston-based non-profit dedicated to recovering and distributing surplus food to communities facing food insecurity. Before law school, Johanna taught English and Social Studies at the Nativity Preparatory School, a middle school in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, for low-income boys from the City of Boston.
Prior to joining Nutter, Johanna served as a summer judicial intern for the Honorable Elizabeth Fahey of the Massachusetts Superior Court. In law school, she was managing editor for the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, an intern for the Elder Project at the Boston College Legal Assistance Bureau, and a tutor to first-year law students through the Academic Support Program.
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News & Insights
News
Speaking Engagements
Publications
Honors
Honors
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, “2024 Top Women of Law”
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2013-2020
Education & Admissions
Education
Boston College Law School, J.D.
University of Pennsylvania, B.A., cum laude
Admissions
- Massachusetts
Practices
Industries
Notable Experience
Johanna is a member of the Boston Estate Planning Council and the Essex County Estate Planning Council, and recently completed the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce’s year-long Women’s Leadership Program.
Noteworthy
- Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, “2024 Top Women of Law”
- Massachusetts Super Lawyers Rising Stars, 2013-2020
