Estate Planning & Asset Protection

Trusts, Estate Planning & Asset Protection

You owe it to yourself and family to take the necessary steps to protect the assets you worked hard to acquire and ensure that those assets get passed along to your heirs. Long-term relationships with families are built on trust and require a lawyer’s personal dedication, commitment and sound judgment.  There are attorneys here at our firm with both the experience and keenness to do just that--those with significant experience reviewing the structures of your business and personal investments to guide you down the right path to protecting your assets. We will assess your circumstances and help establish limited liability companies, family limited liability companies, partnerships, corporations and family partnerships, corporate governing documents, including buy-sell agreements, transfer restrictions and voting/non-voting stock review and draft contracts to protect your interests in your property and investments, create asset protection trusts, advise you on the purchase of assets but more importantly, we are attuned to the personal dynamics inherent in a family-owned business.  We will also provide careful tax planning advice.

We rely on our keen tax understanding in structuring a family’s estate plan to maximize economic benefits for future generations. When it is necessary to deal directly with the Internal Revenue Service or state taxing authorities, our lawyers are experienced in taking the lead role in audits, appeals, and court proceedings. We look for opportunities to work with a client’s accountants and other advisers because we believe the best results are obtained through collaborative efforts.

In many cases, family legacy planning involves the use of family-controlled charities. We understand the critical importance of philanthropy as a family objective and can arrange gifts that are most tax advantageous. We counsel families on how to use charitable entities to further their values and charitable interests.

In addition, we can make sure your estate is managed and thought out by preparing or updating your will, living trust, powers of attorney (POA), health care directive, and organ donation designations. By having and managing your will or trust, you’re helping your family avoid difficult and challenging processes, like going through probate to sort out your affairs or leaving the decision of who is going to care for your children up to the courts or two fighting family members.

Our firm can also make sure that, if your estate is worth more than a million dollars, the rules of gifting will work in your favor, allowing your family to receive a greater share of your net worth at the time of your passing.

Attorneys in

Estate Planning & Asset Protection