Tax, Trusts and Estates, and Elder Law

             Estate Planning

            We offer the experience necessary to create comprehensive estate plans for the efficient transfer of wealth between generations.  Our unique approach includes counseling as well as the preparation of estate plans that reflect our clients’ values and goals, while minimizing or eliminating gift, estate, income and generation-skipping taxes.  To that end, we work closely with our clients to develop personalized estate plans, which can include family limited partnerships, charitable trusts, irrevocable insurance trusts, revocable trust agreements, qualified personal residents trusts, living wills, health care directives, credit shelter trusts and other devices tailored to suit their individual needs. 

            We also assist clients in creating gifting programs that have the dual benefit of benefiting younger family members and minimizing taxes.  We prepare gift tax returns for clients who make outright and trust gifts. 

            Business Planning

            We assist our clients in deciding which business form, whether Subchapter S, partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company or another form of organization, is most advantageous for their purposes.  We assist our business clients in negotiating contracts, licensing agreements, joint ventures, issuance of securities and other transactions. 

            We provide sophisticated planning for closely held businesses including: restructuring with mergers and acquisitions; and using limited partnerships and limited liability companies to minimize tax consequences.  When family-related issues arise in the business context, we take care to integrate the concerns of our clients through family limited partnerships or limited liability company agreements, shareholder buy-sell agreements, marital agreements or other appropriate means.  We also assist our clients in succession planning to determine what will happen with closely held businesses when an individual retires, becomes ill or otherwise cannot run the business.  Other aspects of succession planning include estate and income tax issues, integration of charitable goals and life insurance and we are able to assist our clients in these and other aspects of succession planning.   

We also counsel our clients on structure and operation of retirement and incentive compensation plans (e.g. employee stock ownership plans, 401(k)s, profit-sharing plans, stock-option plans and other plans), ERISA issues and health and welfare plans.

            Prenuptial Agreements

            Our firm also drafts and negotiates prenuptial agreements for our clients.  Such agreements can have estate-tax planning considerations and also raise issues regarding spousal inheritance rights under state law. 

            Special Needs/Disability Planning

            As part of our planning services, we counsel clients regarding protections against future disability or planning for a family member who has a disability or special needs.  The planning can include durable powers of attorneys, appropriate trusts and health care directives. 

            Elder Law and Medicaid

            We provide a full range of services for our aging population.  We can assist you or your loved one obtain the most appropriate services and treatment while at the same time preserving assets.  We provide the services to assist you when questions regarding capacity arise, when a guardian of the person or property is needed, or when a power of attorney is required.

            While a will is a critical part of estate planning, there are other aspects of planning, which can include Medicaid planning.  An Asset Protection Plan, which is a specialized estate plan, can protect assets while ensuring a client’s long-term health care. 

We also assist clients in preparing and guiding them through the complicated Medicaid Application process to obtain Medicaid eligibility. 

            Litigation

            We represent individuals and bank trust departments in litigating trust and estate matters at trial and appellate levels.  Such litigation can include the following issues: validity of a will, will and trust construction, elective share and accounting actions.  We also provide representation in cases involving contested guardianships.  Our background in other areas of the law also makes the firm well suited to handle litigation involving ADA compliance, age discrimination, traffic accidents, identify theft, elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation or quality of care.