Trusts, Wills & Estates

We work with people to prepare, maintain and update their estate plans. We also represent people, fiduciaries and trust companies, in estate, probate and trust administration. We also advise clients to coordinate their assets with their estate plan, which includes life insurance, employee benefits and real estate as they relate to their estate and business planning for themselves and their family members.

Our Approach

Your estate is your legacy – the tangible results of your lifetime of hard work, and the dream of passing it on to the next generation. Our attorneys treat your achievements and needs with the respect they deserve. We accomplish this first by learning about you, your family, and your goals. We believe that each person is unique, and we take a unique approach with each estate plan, carefully crafted to your situation. Our attorneys understand the ins and outs of the laws and the tax codes, and work with you to develop the proper plan for you. Our services for our clients include:

Estate and gift planning

Revocable Living Trusts, Wills, Irrevocable Gift Trusts (all types), Business entities including LLCs, Family Limited Partnerships (and similar entities), life insurance planning and trusts, strategies for minimizing transfer taxes (estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes), generation-skipping planning, recommendations for asset ownership allocation, lake and vacation homes and cabin agreements, beneficiary designations, disclaimers, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives and Living Wills.

Estate and trust administration

Estate administration, probate, trust administration, conservatorships and guardianships, income tax planning for estates, trusts and beneficiaries, asset distribution and transfer, trust estate accountings.

Estate and trust litigation

Will and Trust interpretation and contests, representation of Personal Representatives, Trustees, beneficiaries and creditors, breach of trust claims, fiduciary obligation compliance, resolution of creditor claims, probate court and trust proceedings.

Family-owned business succession

Coordination of the business succession plan and the estate plan, succession plans involving family participants and non-participants, buy-sell agreements, compensation and benefit planning, non-compete agreements, and ESOPs.

Asset-protection planning

Prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, Cohabitation Agreements, Special and Supplemental Needs Trusts, asset protection trusts (domestic and international), and fraudulent transfer avoidance planning.

Tax planning, preparation and compliance

Estate tax returns, gift tax returns, tax planning and advice, estate and gift tax audits.

Retirement benefits planning

Mandatory distribution rules, taxation of distributions, maximizing employer-sponsored benefits, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs.

Charitable giving

Structuring and establishing lifetime gifts, bequests, Charitable Trusts, charitable or non-profit corporations, Private Foundations, Donor Advised Funds, charitable and conservation easements.