Marianna joined Bala Law Group, LLC as a Member in December 2014. Marianna practices in the area of estate and wealth planning and has extensive experience in all facets of estate planning and administration. Marianna regularly advises clients on tax-efficient ways to transfer wealth to succeeding generations through lifetime planning techniques, including gifts of life insurance and other assets to irrevocable trusts and sales of closely-held business interests to intentionally defective grantor trusts. She also advises clients on charitable giving techniques, including the establishment of charitable trusts and private foundations and qualification of charitable entities for 501(c)(3) status.
In addition to counseling clients with respect to lifetime estate planning, Marianna also has extensive experience with estate administration, including post-mortem estate and income tax planning and preparation of federal and stated death tax returns. Marianna also regularly represents both individual and corporate fiduciaries in matters before the Orphans' Court, including estate and trust accountings and surcharge actions, often successfully negotiating settlements and avoiding costly litigation.
Prior to joining Bala Law Group, LLC, Marianna was a Partner in the Wealth Planning Department of Duane Morris from 2006 to 2014, and an associate from 2003 to 2005. Marianna was an associate at WolfBlock, LLP from 1999 to 2003, and an associate at the Connecticut firm of Cummings & Lockwood from 1996 to 1999.
In 2005 and 2006, Marianna was named a Pennsylvania Rising Star by Super Lawyers. Rising Stars are chosen by their peers as being among the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in Pennsylvania who are forty years old or younger or in practice for 10 years or less.
Marianna was raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut and moved to the Philadelphia area in 1999. Marianna lives in Medford, New Jersey with her husband, Bill, their three rescue dogs, Stan, Sigourney and Luna, and two spoiled cats. Marianna is a long-time supporter of several animal rescue organizations. She and her husband also serve as foster parents for cats and kittens from ACCT Philly.
