Ryan C. Skelly

Ryan Skelly is a tax and estate planning attorney with a practice focused on guiding individuals, families, and closely held businesses through complex tax, wealth transfer, and business succession matters. His work spans estate and gift tax planning, trust structuring, generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax strategies, and the administration of trusts and estates involving significant business or real estate interests. He regularly advises trustees and fiduciaries on California-specific compliance and distribution issues, including trust funding, allocation of tax attributes, and post-mortem tax elections.

Ryan also represents clients in federal and California tax controversies, including audits, appeals, penalty abatement requests, and private letter ruling submissions. He has significant experience negotiating installment agreements and Offers in Compromise with the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board, resolving outstanding tax liabilities, and advocating for taxpayers in administrative proceedings.

In addition to his estate planning and controversy practice, Ryan has deep expertise in the taxation of corporations (regular and S corporations), limited liability companies and partnerships, including entity classification, basis and capital account analysis, built-in gains tax issues, and structuring tax-efficient reorganizations. He regularly advises on section 351 and 368 transactions, section 1031 like-kind exchanges, and Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) planning under section 1202. He also counsels landowners and businesses on the tax consequences of wildfire-related casualty losses, insurance recoveries, and involuntary conversions under section 1033.

Ryan advises both domestic and international clients on cross-border tax planning, including foreign grantor trusts, foreign corporations with U.S. operations, and pre-immigration tax planning strategies for inbound individuals and families.

Before joining Ferguson Case Orr Paterson, Ryan worked in the tax group at a prominent Los Angeles law firm, where he advised on M&A transactions and high-stakes IRS matters.

Ryan lives in Ojai with his wife and daughter.