ESTATES, TRUSTS AND TAX

Estate planning is an act of caring that has major financial benefits for your loved ones. Our department works with individuals and families in planning for the orderly transition and disposition of their assets during their lives and upon their death with the least tax consequences to the family and beneficiaries.

Our department works with corporate executives, employees, self-employed individuals, owners of closely-held businesses, professionals, retired individuals and their families on a wide range of estate planning and administration matters. Our attorneys also work with the trust departments of many major institutions and provide a wide range of advisory and support services to our clients.

Among our major practice areas in estate planning are: wills and testamentary trusts (including credit shelter, QTIP, QDOT, special needs, and generation skipping trusts); living trusts (including special needs trusts); qualified personal residence trusts (QPRT); grantor retained trusts (GRATS and GRITS); charitable remainder and lead trusts; "dynasty" and other generation-skipping transfer trusts; irrevocable life insurance trusts (for individual life coverage as well as "second-to die/survivorship" coverage); asset protection trusts; family limited partnerships; general and limited durable powers of attorney; living wills and health care powers of attorney (proxies); preparation of gift tax returns; post-mortem estate planning involving the use of disclaimers and related estate and gift tax planning techniques, and advice and drafting in connection with the use of IRA "stretch planning" techniques.

Our estate administration services include: probate (including complex and contested probate matters); preparation of estate and inheritance tax returns; will contests and litigation; elective share claims; estate administration and record keeping; and preparation of estate and trust accountings (both judicial and by consent).

In the areas of elder and disability law, we provide: Medicaid eligibility planning; special needs trusts; health care directives and proxies; and guardianships.