Steven M. Bonneau is Senior Tax Counsel at The Northern Trust Company. Steve works closely with Northern Trust partners, particularly relationship advisors, trust counsel, and fiduciary practice leaders, as well as outside attorneys and accountants, advising on issues related to the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. With an eye toward monitoring a trust’s inclusion ratio, Steve reviews federal gift and estate tax returns for trusts and estates where Northern Trust serves as fiduciary. He oversees the timely filing of taxable termination returns and reports qualified severances, and ensures that a trust is an eligible S corporation shareholder where applicable. Steve previously served on the faculty for Northern Trust’s Trust School for 10 years, preparing partners for the Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) exam through the American Bankers Association.

Steve is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a visiting member of the adjunct faculty at the Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning at the University of Miami School of Law, where he teaches GST tax.

Prior to joining Northern Trust in 2013, Steve was in private practice for 13 years, working in the areas of tax and estate planning. Prior to private practice, Steve worked in public accounting for two years.

Steve earned his B.A. in English from Boston College and his J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law. He frequently speaks and writes about federal wealth transfer taxes, particularly the GST tax. Steve volunteers at Misericordia Heart of Mercy in Chicago.