Estate/Business Planning

Our firm will provide sound legal advice in your Estate/Business planning. Below are areas we work with and our attorney's will help you to identify what is the best solution and tools for planning your particular Estate/Business.

Living Trust Estate Planning:
A living trust, created while you're alive, lets you control the distribution of your estate. You transfer ownership of your property and your assets into the trust. You can serve as the trustee or you can select a person or an institution to be the trustee. If you're the trustee, you will have to name a successor trustee to distribute the assets at your death.

The advantage of a living trust if properly drafted and executed, it can avoid probate because the trust owns the assets, not the deceased. Only property in the deceased's name must go through probate. The downside if poorly drawn or unfunded trusts can cost you money and endanger your best intentions.

Retirement Plans and Estate Planning:
Comprehensive review of Retirement Planning documents to insure that your goals are met and to minimize or mitigate the effects of estate and income taxes on retirement plan distributions at death. Coordination of your retirement plan(s) with your existing or new estate planning.

Advanced Estate Planning:
Advanced estate planning focuses primarily on reducing transfer taxes and income taxes. Under current federal law, there are three taxes that are imposed on the transfer of assets: the gift tax, the estate tax, and the generation-skipping transfer tax ("GSTT"). In addition to the transfer taxes that may apply, income tax can also reduce transfers. The gift tax applies to transfers made during life, the estate tax applies to transfers at death, and the generation-skipping transfer tax applies to transfers during life or at death that skip the children's generation and pass to "skip persons", who are generally grandchildren and those in lower generations.

Asset Protection:
"Asset Protection" combines different legal tools: trusts, property agreements and business organizations such as corporations and family limited partnerships. An asset protection plan generally costs a fraction of what it takes to defend a lawsuit. It may save you from a creditor taking all you own to satisfy a judgement, and typically allows you to carry less liability insurance.

Guardianships, Wills and Probate:
Simple will plans, property agreements, powers of attorney, etc. Estate management and/or settlement for disabled or deceased persons.

Small Business Planning and Legal Services:
We structure, review or amend your current business form to help you determine tax advantages and liability concerns. We assist you in regular operations of the business (contracts, etc.) and in the preparation of business continuation or buy-sell agreements in the event of the owner's disability or death.