Practice Areas

Estate Planning

Trust and Estate Administration

Business Formation and Representation

Estate Planning

Our primary philosophy in estate planning is to find out what the client wishes are, and then offer ways to implement those wishes in a fashion which minimizes taxes while preserving administrative simplicity.

The firm offers a wide variety of estate planning services, starting with basic estate planning documents such as the revocable Declaration of Trust intended to make straight forward gifts of property at death, and the companion "core documents" comprised of the pour-over Will, Powers of Attorney for Property and Health Care, Standby Guardian Designation, and the Living Will.

Estate planning services extend, however, to income, gift and estate tax planning, and may include a number of advanced planning strategies which are intended to minimize values for tax purposes, redirect income tax liability, and shelter assets from non-governmental creditors.

The firm was a leader in establishing fixed price estimates for various types of planning documents, and embraced technology early on in an effort to reduce the time it takes to produce and deliver documents. Today we generally produce finished drafts in 5 to 10 working days, and can deliver those documents (to clients and their financial advisors) instantly via secure email transmission. We were also in the forefront in using computer-generated color flow charts to assist clients in more easily understanding complex plans which may have a life spanning 3 or more generations.

Planning does not end with the execution of documents. Experience with clients who have used other professionals has taught us that the post-execution work of re-titling assets in the name of newly created trusts, is far too left incomplete, or not attended to at all. We pride ourselves in the closure we bring to this part of the planning process. Using technology to assist us and keep our clients informed, any paralegal in the firm (and any attorney) is able to access a "real time" record of what is happening on a client's file. Financial planners or other professionals working with us in the planning arena will enjoy this same immediate update capabilities, and will never be delayed while someone "... looks for the file to see what the status is."

Trust and Estate Administration

Advising clients in the actual execution and on-going administration of trusts and estates is an integral portion of the firm's practice. Plan documents and their execution have often been compared to architectural drawings and the actual construction of the building which the drawings represent. We offer complete legal services subsequent to the death of a client, including expected services such as the preparation of all death tax returns, probate administration, and advising clients with respect to their rights as surviving spouse, trust beneficiary or as a fiduciary of an estate or trust.

Each attorney brings over 25 years of experience in planning and administration to bear in any estate, so that beyond these "basic" estate services, we are able to integrate and implement many post-mortem planning opportunities for the client. These may result in reduction of estate taxes, redirection of income tax liabilities, introducing flexible options in an instrument that has otherwise foreclosed options, planning for beneficiaries with creditor issues, and the like. Many of these additional planning options are curative in nature; many, however, are appropriate because of changes in circumstances which could not have been anticipated when documents were executed.

We look at estate and trust administration, then, not as an end, but as a new beginning of planning opportunities for the client and his or her family.

Business Formation and Representation

Our business practice, restricted as it is to privately owned entities, is closely related to the work we do in the estate planning arena. We frequently counsel families with respect to the ownership and disposition of closely held businesses, creation and operation of family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, buy/sell agreements, general contractual matters, loan and security agreements, mergers, acquisitions and sales, and the creation and operation of charitable trusts and foundations. We attempt to provide a coordinated approach to an estate plan that combines a sensitivity to the needs of the business entrepreneur, the desire plan for succession and minimize taxes, and the ability to follow through to see that these goals are accomplished.

We are proud of the same type of streamlined document production and delivery that we bring to the estate planning and administration areas, again using computer and internet technology to speed a process which took days when work product was being exchanged with clients (and advisors, and opposing counsel) via mail and messenger services.

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