Jonathon Morrison is a nationally recognized attorney and tax strategist who has built a career advising ultra high net worth individuals on some of the most complex issues in estate planning. Known for creating innovative strategies that preserve wealth while supporting charitable goals, Morrison has earned a reputation as one of the leading voices in advanced tax planning and philanthropic structuring. With more than twenty years of legal experience, his work has been featured in publications such as Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, Barron’s, and the Estate Planning Journal. He is also a respected speaker at industry events and estate planning councils across the United States, where he shares his insights on building strategic plans that align financial, tax, and legacy objectives.
Morrison was born and raised in Arizona and comes from a family with a deep connection to public service. His grandfather, Robert Morrison, served as Attorney General of Arizona from 1955 to 1959. Inspired by a combination of financial discipline and public responsibility, Morrison earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management in 2004, graduating with honors. He then pursued a legal education focused on taxation at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, receiving his Juris Doctor in 2007. That same year, he became a member of the State Bar of California and was later admitted to the Arizona Bar in 2015.
Early in his career, Morrison worked in California during a period of immense growth in the technology sector. He joined the personal tax planning group affiliated with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, a law firm well known for representing the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Alongside Wilson Sonsini, he worked closely with founders, senior executives, and investors involved in companies like Apple, Google, Amazon, and Tesla. These experiences helped shape his understanding of how wealth planning must evolve alongside innovation, and how business owners often require highly customized estate plans that match the complexity of their holdings.
His early work focused on designing estate strategies that integrated personal tax efficiency with corporate liquidity events, especially in connection with pre-IPO planning and cross-border assets. Morrison developed a sophisticated grasp of issues like QSBS eligibility, multi-jurisdictional trust structuring, and the tax treatment of restricted stock and deferred compensation. His clients benefited from both legal precision and strategic foresight, which quickly positioned him as a go-to advisor for high achieving individuals with forward-looking goals.
In 2015, Morrison returned to Phoenix, Arizona, and joined the law firm Frazer Ryan Goldberg & Arnold LLP. Bringing his experience from California, he introduced to the Arizona market a new level of technical sophistication that had previously been more common in coastal legal hubs. His entry into the region marked a shift in the estate planning landscape, especially for high net worth individuals in industries such as real estate, private equity, sports, and medical practice.
Morrison is perhaps best known for creating and refining several estate planning vehicles that balance tax efficiency with access and long term control. One of his signature strategies is the Optimized Gift Trust, a planning tool that allows individuals to transfer significant wealth out of their taxable estates while maintaining flexibility over how and when the assets are accessed. He also developed the Optimized Charitable Lead Annuity Trust, which combines high deduction potential with greater donor control and a stronger focus on philanthropic impact. Another contribution is the Marital Multiplier Trust, a sophisticated planning structure that leverages QSBS stock and non grantor trusts to address both estate tax savings and capital gains reduction.
These solutions have earned national recognition and are now used by professionals across the country. Morrison regularly updates his strategies in response to regulatory changes and client needs, ensuring that they remain effective in real world application. His articles and case studies are often cited in legal publications and professional trainings, and he continues to lead discussions on how tax policy intersects with private wealth and charitable planning.
Over the course of his career, Morrison has directly handled more than five hundred advanced planning transactions. His experience includes a wide range of trust types, including Dynasty Trusts, Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts, Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Nevada Incomplete Gift Non Grantor Trusts, and Asset Protection Trusts. He also provides legal opinions on Beneficiary Defective Inheritor’s Trusts and large scale asset movement strategies commonly known as MegaTrusts. His clients include tech entrepreneurs, C level executives, venture capitalists, private equity professionals, real estate developers, and families managing multigenerational wealth. He is equally comfortable advising first generation wealth creators and long established philanthropists. His approach combines deep technical knowledge with an understanding of family dynamics, legacy vision, and charitable intent.
Morrison is also a committed educator and thought leader in the estate planning world. He writes regularly for Estate Planning, a respected Thomson Reuters journal, where his articles on trust design and philanthropic planning are often featured on the cover. In addition to being published in top business and financial media outlets, Morrison is frequently invited to speak at advisor summits, foundation briefings, and professional development events. His speaking topics range from charitable tax strategies and sunset provisions in tax law to business succession and out of state trust planning.
Morrison lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his wife and two children. Each summer, the family spends time in Paris, staying in the Saint Germain des Prés neighborhood. This seasonal relocation not only allows them to avoid the Arizona heat but also enables Morrison to conduct international work during optimal business hours. Outside of his legal practice, he has a passion for performance cars and owns a collection that includes Ferraris, Porsches, and BMWs. He regularly participates in high performance driving events and enjoys attending community gatherings like Cars and Coffee.
He is an active member of numerous professional and community organizations, including the State Bars of Arizona and California, the Central Arizona Estate Planning Council, the Planned Giving Roundtable of Arizona, and Valley Estate Planners. He also serves on advisory and planned giving committees for several major institutions, such as the Arizona Community Foundation, Ballet Arizona, the Desert Botanical Garden, the Phoenix Zoo, and the Phoenix Rescue Mission. These roles reflect his dedication not only to the legal profession but also to causes that support the community through education, environment, the arts, and human services.
Morrison’s expertise has been formally recognized through multiple honors. He has been named in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in Closely Held Companies and Family Businesses Law since 2022. He was also selected for the Az Business Leaders list in both 2023 and 2024 by AZ Big Media. Additionally, he holds the designation of Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law from the State Bar of California, a credential that highlights his high level of competence in these practice areas.
Jonathon Morrison continues to set the standard for excellence in estate planning, combining innovation, tax intelligence, and a deep commitment to philanthropic values. His work serves as a model for how legal strategy can be used to support both financial outcomes and meaningful impact. As tax law continues to evolve and wealth transitions become more complex, Morrison remains a trusted advisor to those seeking clarity, structure, and long term vision in their planning.
