Our attorneys help guide individuals and families through the estate planning process. We represent a wide array of clients ranging from those with minimal assets who are not concerned with taxes to those with substantial assets who need sophisticated tax planning. It is often necessary to establish structures to protect assets from various threats including unnecessary taxes, claims of creditors and unwise spending by immature or irresponsible beneficiaries. Our planning takes into consideration the needs and desires of the client in order to develop strategies that will allow for the management and preservation of the client's assets in the context of the existing legal and tax environment. We coordinate our planning with the client's other advisors including accountants, investment advisors and insurance professionals.
Such planning strategies range from simple wills to direct the disposition of assets at the client's death to complex structures involving multiple trusts and entities that allow for the long term management and protection of assets for multiple generations of descendants. Our planning typically involves organizing the client's affairs in a way that will minimize estate, gift and generation skipping taxes so as to maximize the amount that can be transferred to family members. We also assist in developing charitable giving strategies.
In implementing our estate and asset protection plans, we regularly employ the following:
- Basic Lifetime and Testamentary Planning Tools: Including wills, powers of attorney and advance directives for health care.
- Trusts: Including revocable trusts, irrevocable insurance trusts, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, generation-skipping dynasty trusts, and special needs trusts.
- Legal Entities: Including limited liability companies, family limited partnerships, limited liability limited partnerships, business corporations and non-profit corporations.
