About Tye J. Klooster

Tye Klooster counsels high-net-worth families and family offices on how best to preserve their legacies and transfer wealth to future generations. As the co-head of Katten's Chicago Private Wealth practice and a fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, Tye serves clients who rely on him to design and implement sophisticated and personalized estate plans.

Estate planning and tax advice clients trust

Clients praise Tye for his “fantastic bedside manner” and as “one of the most creative and responsive attorneys” on the “cutting edge of high-level planning.” Chambers High Net Worth 2023 (Illinois, Private Wealth Law) survey responses.

Tye designs estate plans which allow high-net-worth individuals to leverage use of their gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) exemptions and to pass wealth to the next generation in a way that is both tax-efficient and creditor-protected. He implements sales to grantor trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), charitable lead and remainder trusts and business entities designed to achieve his clients' nontax and potentially tax objectives.

Tye counsels families on the set up and administration of sophisticated family office structures. He advises principals in private equity, venture capital and hedge funds regarding strategies for transferring their fund interests to minimize the impact of estate, gift and GST taxes. Tye advises business owners on business succession planning and leverages an array of asset protection techniques. He counsels farmers, business owners and art collectors on strategies for handling illiquid assets, including the use of Graegin loans and qualifying for the benefits of Code Sections 2032A and 6166. Tye also represents fiduciaries in the administration of estates and trusts, the formation and operation of private foundations and sophisticated charitable giving techniques.

Tye is actively involved with ACTEC, the Chicago Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. 

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"Tye is extremely good at communication. His technical expertise is amazing. His ability to communicate complex ideas in a simplified manner is great." "I thoroughly enjoy working with Tye and he is a real advocate for our family."

Chambers High Net Worth 2025
(Illinois, Private Wealth Law) survey response

Practice Focus

  • Estate planning and wealth transfer
  • Estate and generation-skipping tax exemptions
  • Trust design and implementation

News

Publications

Presentations and Events

Practices
Industries
Education
  • New York University School of Law, LLM
  • Drake University, School of Law, JD, with highest honors
  • The University of Iowa, BBA, with honors
Bar Admissions
  • Illinois
  • Florida
Community Involvements
  • American Bar Association, former Vice-Chair Business Investment Entities, Partnerships, LLCs and Corporations Committee of the Trust and Estates Section's Business Planning Group; former Fellow of the Real Property, Trust and Estate Section; Member, Income and Transfer Tax Group
  • Florida Bar Association
  • Illinois State Bar Association
  • Lincoln Park Zoo, Planned Giving Committee, Member
  • Lyric Opera, Planned Giving Committee, Member
  • The Chicago Bar Association, Member, Trust Law Section, former Member, Executive Committee; former member, Illinois Uniform Trust Code Task Force; former Co-Chair, Young Lawyers Section, Estate Planning Committee
Recognitions
Recognized or listed in the following:
  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
    Fellow
  • Best Lawyers in America
    Trust and Estates, 2017–2025
  • Chambers High Net Worth
    Illinois: Private Wealth Law, 2019–2025
  • Leading Lawyers Network
    Emerging Lawyer, 2015
  • Super Lawyers
    Illinois, 2018–2025
  • Super Lawyers Rising Stars
    Illinois, 2012–2013
Award Methodologies