Probate and Trust Administration
Our firm handles both simple and complex probate and trust administrations. Whether the deceased individual has a trust, left a will (“testate”) or did not leave a will (“intestate”), we work with you to navigate the required steps necessary whether inside of or outside of the probate process. Our trust administration services bring an organized, efficient system to bear that provides guidance and certainty to a difficult process.
In the event a dispute should arise among the potential heirs or beneficiaries, our transaction and litigation teams work together to resolve such contests. These matters can be made difficult by the fact that the catalyst for the dispute is the passing of a loved one. Our attorneys have the unique ability to understand both the intricate legal issues and the highly charged emotional issues that accompany this process. We work to efficiently satisfy all claims and sensitively resolve any potential contests so that the inheritance may be distributed free and clear to the beneficiaries of the estate.
Family Business Planning
We are able to assist you with all aspects of your family business, including formation, employment issues, strategic legal planning, purchases, sales and expansions, and dissolutions. We can help you determine how best to translate your personal and business values into a forward-looking plan that can commence, integrate, and ultimately transition younger generations into the family business, often while preserving life-time income streams.
Trust and Estate Planning
Our trust and estate planning practice is as serious as our real estate and business expertise. Our clients range from trust planning for younger generations with high degrees of potential wealth accumulation to well-established business owners and other successful individuals. Our focus is on a pragmatic, systematic approach that implements increasing degrees of significance in wealth and protection planning. Our approach allows us to preserve our clients’ assets for themselves and their families in order to protect them from current threats as well as leverage future opportunities.
Living Trusts
Like all trust and estate planning practices, living trusts constitute our core responsibility. One size does not fit all. We tailor our trust plans to the particular life circumstances of each client. Such plans encompass basic “nuts and bolts” planning as a starting place and can transition to advanced tax planning, special protection for spouses, protection for children against divorce, asset protection, special needs and circumstances with respect to both heirs and the assets of the estate.
Trusts and Life Insurance
A surprising, little-known fact is that any significant amount of life insurance is usually wasted without an appropriate trust. The reality is that without correct planning most individuals with significant holdings or larger policies holding life insurance will lose approximately forty-five cents of every dollar of life insurance upon their death. This terrible waste can be avoided by appropriate planning. Our planning options include trust protection for spouses, children, and other loved ones. We can even often structure trusts which will allow a spouse who receives life insurance proceeds to utilize the funds during their lifetime estate-tax free and then to have such funds benefit the children and even grandchildren estate-tax free as well. Second-to-die life insurance also is a frequent and appropriate candidate for tax savings.
Planning for Retirement Benefits
An often overlooked area in estate planning is retirement planning. Many retirement benefits can “disappear” upon the death of the owner. There are significant ways in which to balance the use of the funds against potential growth as well as protecting beneficiaries through permissible trust structures. Such benefits are the fruit of a lifetime of labor, and there is no reason to allow them to dissipate upon an unexpected death. If you have a large IRA or similar retirement plan, ask us about establishing a specialized trust that can potentially double or triple the benefits to your heirs.
Laureate Planning
The firm provides sophisticated planning for a variety of high net worth clients. We establish master wealth plans by which we map out in detail potential lifetime planning vehicles to achieve clients’ legacies, including reducing applicable gift and estate taxes. Such planning is generally advisable for clients whose net worth exceeds Ten Million Dollars, though we have drafted plans for clients whose net worth exceeds Two Hundred Million Dollars. We use a variety of sophisticated gift and estate planning vehicles, representing a “state of the art” understanding of applicable income, gift, and inheritance tax laws.
Probate and Trust Litigation
Complimenting both our Estate Planning and Family Dispute practices is our Probate and Trust litigation practice. These matters are made difficult by the fact that the catalyst for the dispute is the passing of a loved one, which adds even more emotion to an already potentially volatile situation. Combining our sophisticated knowledge of estate planning with the sensitivity required for handling family and small business disputes results in a unique ability to understand both the intricate legal issues and the highly charged emotional issues that accompany this type of litigation, and often enables us to find acceptable solutions to these difficult family issues.
Powers of Attorney
The firm provides sophisticated planning for a variety of high net worth clients. We establish master wealth plans by which we map out in detail potential lifetime planning vehicles to achieve clients’ legacies, including reducing applicable gift and estate taxes. Such planning is generally advisable for clients whose net worth exceeds Ten Million Dollars, though we have drafted plans for clients whose net worth exceeds Two Hundred Million Dollars. We use a variety of sophisticated gift and estate planning vehicles, representing a “state of the art” understanding of applicable income, gift, and inheritance tax laws.
We prepare all types of powers of attorney, including financial powers of attorney, durable powers of attorney for healthcare (also sometimes called advanced health care directives or living wills), and special powers of attorney.
It is especially important to have a power of attorney for healthcare which covers not only end of the life decisions (such as in a statutory, standard form), but authorizing and directing care when one is simply incapacitated. Shouldn’t your health care directives include an instruction to your agent to keep you in your house as long as possible instead of a nursing home?
Resources have been prepared by our estate planning partner and are offered as a courtesy on this site. We hope you take advantage of each one.
