The attorneys in our estate planning practice group are experienced with assisting clients, many of whom own interests in large, family businesses, with passing assets to their intended beneficiaries in a manner that seeks to minimize estate, gift, generation-skipping and income taxes.
We frequently advise clients on:
- Grantor retained annuity trusts
- Sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts
- Qualified personal residence trust
- Formation of family limited partnerships and limited liability companies
- Planning and preparation of simple and complex wills and trusts, including for multiple generations of family members
- Life insurance planning with the use of trusts, split dollar plans and other financing options
- Planning for the transition of ownership and management of closely held family companies and other family assets, including arrangements to accommodate the differing interests of younger-generation family members
- Charitable planning, including forming and advising private foundations, charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts
- Planning for business succession including the use of buy-sell agreements and insurance
- Lifetime gifting using limited liability entities and trust techniques such as GRATS, QPRTS, CRUTS and CLATS
- Probate and administration of wills and trusts
- Minimizing gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes through the appropriate use of trusts and other entities designed to take maximum advantage of legitimate exemptions and other measures acceptable under current law
We utilize long-term trusts that provide benefits to future generations without having the assets increase a beneficiary’s estate tax liability.
For those who have a charitable inclination, we advise clients regarding the formation of private foundations, entering into charitable split-interest trusts, such as a charitable remainder annuity trust, and establishing donor advised funds.
We are experienced in reporting large, lifetime gifts on federal gift tax returns, the preparation of estate tax returns and the proper reporting of generation-skipping transfers on these returns. We work with local and nationally recognized appraisers who provide quality appraisals needed to begin the running of the statute of limitations. We have had great success in advising clients in connection with IRS audits of these returns.