About Matt Brown
Matt Brown is a partner with the Orange County, California law firm of Brown & Streza LLP. Matt heads the firm’s Tax, Trusts, & Estates Group and its Ultra-High-Net-Worth subgroup. He represents business owners and philanthropists in personal planning, business succession planning, and charitable planning. Matt is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a former adjunct professor of law at University of California, Irvine School of Law.
Matt is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization and has been included in the Top 50: Orange County Super Lawyers list every year since 2016.
Matt has been quoted twice in the Wall Street Journal, twice in the Orange County Register, and in various other publications. Matt is also a frequent speaker and a published author on advanced estate planning, business succession, tax and philanthropy topics.
Matt earned his undergraduate degree in Agricultural and Managerial Economics from the University of California at Davis and his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, where he was a member of the Southern Methodist University Law Review.
Matt lives in Ladera Ranch, California with his wife, Julie, and their four children: Michael, Ryan, Kevin, and Cassidy. The entire family attends Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California.
Professional Background
Brown & Streza, LLP, Irvine, California
Partner, 2008-Present
Attorney, 2002-2008
University of California, Irvine School of Law
Adjunct Professor, 2014-2015
Thompson & Knight LLP, Dallas, Texas (merged with Holland & Knight in 2021)
Associate Attorney, 2000-2002
Winstead, Dallas, Texas
Associate Attorney, 1999-2000
Juris Doctor, cum laude, Southern Methodist University School of Law, 1999
Southern Methodist University Law Review
Member
Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society
Member
Bachelor of Science, Agricultural and Managerial Economics, University of California Davis, 1996
Licensed to practice law in both Texas (Inactive) and California
Professional Recognition
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC): Fellow (Member), October 2014
Elected to membership by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience as trust and estate counselors
Certified Specialist, 1/28/2011
Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization
AV® Preeminent™ Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are established by lawyers and judges who have personal knowledge of an individual attorney’s work and ethical standards.
An AV® certification mark is a significant rating accomplishment – a testament to the fact that a lawyer’s peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence.
2016 – 2024 “Top 50 Orange County Super Lawyer”
2015 – 2024 “Southern California Super Lawyer”
2011 “40 Under 40” as published in OC Register Metro, May 2011
2011 – 2014 “OC Top Attorney” (Estate Planning) as published in OC Register Metro, August 2011, August 2012, August 2013, and August 2014
2008 – 2014 “Southern California Super Lawyers-Rising Star”
Publications
Leimberg Information Services, Inc., May 2020
- Co-author, Executing Estate Planning Documents During the Pandemic and the Slow Return to the “New Normal”
- Signing During Coronavirus – California New York University 73rd Institute on Federal Taxation, Chapter 16
New York University 73rd Institute on Federal Taxation, Chapter 16
- Co-author, Converting Ordinary Income into Capital Gains Using the Early Termination of Private Trusts and Charitable Remainder Trusts
California Trusts & Estates Quarterly, Fall 2014
- Co-author, California Income Tax Issues for Non-California Trusts – Part II
California Trusts & Estates Quarterly, Spring 2014
- Co-author, California Income Tax Issues for Non-California Trusts – Part I
Leimberg Information Services, Inc., March 2014
- Co-author, California ING Trusts: A Cautionary Tale of Your Future State Laws?
CEB Business Succession Planning: Strategies for California Estate Planners and Business Attorneys, June 2014
- Author of topic in Insurance Planning Chapter titled Use of Life Insurance in Estate Planning
Wealth Management Frontier Journal, December 2013, UCI – The Paul Merage School of Business, Center for Investment and Wealth Management
- Estate Tax Planning During Economic Uncertainty
CEB Business Succession Planning: Strategies for California Estate Planners and Business Attorneys, June 2012
- Author of topics in Insurance Planning Chapter titled: Split Dollar Agreements – update
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans, Employee Stock Ownership Plans, and Stock Options – update
- Captive Insurance Companies – update
CEB Business Succession Planning: Strategies for California Estate Planners and Business Attorneys, June 2010
- Author of topics in Insurance Planning Chapter titled:
- Split Dollar Agreements
- Captive Insurance Companies
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation, Captive Insurance Companies, and Split Dollar Life Insurance Planning
The WealthCounsel Quarterly, January 2009
- Fat-Free Fat: Nontax Considerations for Discussing Philanthropy with Your Clients
WealthCounsel Estate Planning Strategies: Collective Wisdom, Proven Techniques, December 2008
- Author of chapter, Conservation Easements – How to Give Your Land Away but Still Use It
Orange County Business Journal Keys to Wealth Management Supplement, June 30, 2008
- The Life Cycle of the Entrepreneurial Business: Wonder, Blunder, Thunder, Plunder
Speaking Engagements
NATIONAL AUDIENCE
National Association of Estate Planners & Councils – The Robert G. Alexander Webinar Series, September 14, 2022, National Videoconference
- Spousal Trusts: Opportunities and Pitfalls
56th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning – University of Miami School of Law, March 28-April 1, 2022, National Videoconference
- Co-Presenter, State Income Taxation of Trusts: Even Florida Practitioners Should Know This Stuff!
ACTEC Annual Meeting, Fiduciary Income Tax Committee, March 9-14, 2022, San Diego, California
- Co-Presenter, California Income Taxation of Trust
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners USA: 9th Annual Institute on Tax, Estate Planning and the Economy, February 3-4, 2020, Newport Beach, California
- Co-presenter, What’s in it For Me? Income Tax Planning with Irrevocable Trusts
The 39th Annual Tax & Estate Planning Forum, October 10, 2019, San Diego, California
- Beyond Estate Taxes: Trusts Are for Income Taxes, Too
Click here for complete list of speaking engagements
LOCAL AUDIENCE
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Orange County, Newport Beach, California, June 26, 2024
- The Corporate Transparency Act is Just the Beginning: CTA Compliance and Regulatory Ruminations for Trust & Estate Practitioners
OCBA Trusts & Estates Section, Live Interactive Webinar, May 8, 2024
- The Corporate Transparency Act is Just the Beginning: CTA Compliance and Regulatory Ruminations for Trust & Estate Practitioners
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners Orange County, Newport Beach, California, June 14, 2023
- What every advisor should know but probably doesn’t about Pre-Sale Planning
Gursey Schneider LLP, Live Interactive Webinar, January 25, 2023
- Basic Estate Planning for Forensic Accountants
OCBA Trusts & Estates, Elder Law, & Conservatorship Section Annual Seminar, Costa Mesa, California, October 26, 2022
- Trust Protectors: Planning, Adminstration, and Litigation Considerations
Click here for complete list of speaking engagements
Media Mentions
Family Enterprise USA The Voice of Family Business on Capitol Hill Podcast, June 2024
- Planning Now for the Expiration of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act
Advancing Philanthropy Magazine, December 2007
- Life Settlements: Giving While Living
World Vision – The Advisor, November 2007
- Helping Clients See the “Big Picture”
Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2007
- Deconstructing a New Capital-Gains Strategy: ‘Structured Sales’ Aim to Ease Tax Bit, but Returns Are Slim And Benefits Aren’t Ensured
Orange County Register, December 29, 2006
- Samueli Disputes $2.9 Million IRS Bill
Orange County Register, December 3, 2006
- IRS Yet to Rule on Product
Research Magazine, January 2004
- Optimizing Charitable Giving
Wall Street Journal, December 8, 2003
- Pritzkers Made a ‘Tax-Driven’ Dea
Community Involvement
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) – Fellow (Member)
Orange County Estate Planning Council – Member; Former Board Member
USC Gould School of Law Trust and Estate Conference Planning Committee – Member
University of California, Irvine – Center For Investment and Wealth Management – Charter Member
Kingdom Advisors – Charter Member
Crossline Community Church – Member
Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners of Orange County (STEP-OC) – Founding Board Member; Member
Planned Giving Round Table of Orange County – Former President
American Bar Association – Member
California Bar Association – Member
Texas Bar Association – Member (Inactive)
College of the State Bar of Texas – Member
Phi Delta Phi Legal Honor Society – Member
