Estate Planning
We provide estate, wealth transfer, and tax planning services to individuals, couples and families. From the most basic to the most complex, we prepare individualized estate plans designed to maximize our clients’ flexibility and intentions while minimizing estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes.
Our attorneys consult with clients to determine the nature and extent of their assets and their objectives in managing, conserving and distributing their wealth. Our experience allows us to combine proficiency with practicality and sensitivity to both technical and non-technical issues. We often work with our clients’ other professional advisors, including accountants, brokers, financial planners, life insurance professionals, and trustees, to coordinate all aspects of their planning.
We prepare estate planning documents that range from the short and simple to the long and complex. These documents include:
- Wills
- Revocable and irrevocable trusts
- Durable powers of attorney for healthcare and property
- Living wills
- Pre-marital and post-marital agreements
- Shareholders’ agreements
- Family limited partnership agreements
- Limited liability company agreements
We also prepare ancillary estate planning documents, such as real estate deeds and beneficiary designation forms for annuities, life insurance policies, and retirement plans. If needed, we prepare and file federal gift tax returns (IRS Form 709). We provide complex estate planning guidance, including:
- The creation of irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs)
- Qualified domestic trusts (QDOTs)
- Sales to grantor trusts (IDITs)
- Grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)
- Qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs)
- Lifetime qualified terminable interest trusts (QTIPs)
- Generation-skipping transfer tax (GST) planning strategies
For clients who are interested in charitable planning, we provide guidance on:
- Private foundations
- Donor advised funds
- Charitable remainder trusts (CRTs)
- Charitable lead trusts (CLTs)