Practice Areas

Wills continue to be the principal means used by most clients to minimize federal and state death taxes. "A-B trust" wills have long been used to take advantage of various exemptions and credits, such as the Unified Credit and the Marital Deduction that can reduce or eliminate federal and state death taxes. Federal estate tax laws are complex. The most beneficial use of exemptions and credits to minimize taxes requires careful planning by experienced lawyers familiar with these laws. A properly drafted will can also save time and expense.

Our lawyers routinely draft and implement wills that include a wide range of trusts, including trusts intended primarily for the protection of spouse and children. These include spendthrift and incentive trusts, trusts intended to save estate taxes such as unified credit trusts, marital trusts, generation skipping trusts, trusts to carry out a client's charitable intentions such as charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts, as well as trusts that take advantage of special use valuation, qualified family owned business exclusions, estate tax deferral for businesses, tax-free redemptions, and retirement account deferral planning.

Not only do we counsel our clients about the impact of estate taxes, but also how personal issues, such as second marriages, children from different marriages, and beneficiaries who need protection, may impact an estate plan. We understand that these issues may be of particular importance to our clients, and therefore require special attention.