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Benjamin Franklin said, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Our goal is for you to feel that your attorney has prepared you for both — through a sound estate plan that secures your assets and minimizes the amount of taxes that you and your beneficiaries pay during your lifetime and at death. Without estate planning, up to fifty percent of a person’s wealth may be lost to federal and state inheritance and estate taxes. We work to ensure that your affairs are in order so that your beneficiaries avoid much of the financial and emotional burdens that may accompany your death.

We assist clients with a variety of estate and post-mortem planning, including

 

• Will drafting

• Trust drafting

• Powers of attorney and living wills

• Estate and trust litigation

• Lifetime gift planning

• Generation-skipping transfer planning

• Family partnerships and limited liability companies

• Charitable organizations

• Probate of estates

• Trust and estate administration

• Succession planning for closely-held businesses

• Guardianship and conservatorship proceedings

• Post-mortem tax planning

• Maximization of wealth transfers from generation to generation

 

If you already have an estate plan, it is important to periodically review it. You should make updates to your plan:

 

• When you note a substantial increase or decrease in the value of your estate.

• Every three to five years to discuss the effect of changes in state or federal laws.

• In the case of divorce or marriage.

• When your named beneficiaries, guardians, personal representatives, trustees, etc., need to be changed due to birth, adoption, death, or changed circumstances.

• When moving to a new state.