Estate

We understand the complicated, life-long dynamic between families and other beneficiaries and your desire to preserve your legacy and protect your assets. With that understanding, we will create a comprehensive plan to preserve and continue your family’s legacy.

Who we help:

  • Families and individuals interested in putting together an estate plan
  • Individual and/or corporate trustees, executors, administrators and guardians
  • Family and/or closely-held businesses
  • Estate and Trust beneficiaries
  • Individuals who have been removed as beneficiaries or fiduciaries of an estate or trust due to fraudulent activity or undue influence of a testator or grantor

Estate Planning:

Today’s rapidly changing trust and estate laws have made estate planning, business succession and wealth and asset protection planning, more complicated than ever. After years of sophisticated estate planning, counseling clients and litigating family, estate and commercial matters, we developed a strategy to create a comprehensive plan to ensure the continuation and preservation of your family’s assets in a tax-efficient manner that aligns with your goals.

Working closely with clients and their financial advisors and accountants, we counsel clients using tax planning techniques and other tools to help them maximize growth. We also monitor legislation, cases, and other rulings on estate and commercial laws in order to create effective estate plans.

Probate of Estate Assets

Upon the passing of a loved one, probating or administering an estate can be an emotionally difficult process. We can assist in all areas of estate and trust administration, including the probate of wills, the preparation and settlement of executor and trustee accounts and trust and estate litigation. We can also guide you in the process of establishing a team to prepare and file both state and federal income, gift, estate and other estate-related tax returns.

Business Succession Planning

It is the key to the survival of a business in times of turmoil. We will construct and implement a plan that provides for a tax-efficient continuation, or sale, of your closely-held business upon the death, disability or retirement of a shareholder or partner.

Estate Litigation

Not every firm has experience handling complex estate litigation matters – we do.

Large estates, smaller estates, with or without commercial assets – we have litigated many estate matters in both Trial and Appellate Court and achieved successful results for our clients.

Probate, or fiduciary, litigation involves various types of disputes that can arise in connection with a will, trust, guardianship, power of attorney, or other estate assets. Our experience helps you achieve a resolution in the most expedient and efficient manner – which helps you preserve the assets of the estate.

Significant Representations

We have helped our clients achieve success in a large number of significant court cases. We recently have tried or successfully settled the following types of cases:

  • Litigation, including successful appeal, of the disposition of estate assets and insurance proceeds due to alimony arrears owed by the decedent at the time of his death
  • Litigation asserting claims regarding the standard of care and duties applicable to a fiduciary’s (i.e., agents, guardians, executors, and trustees) management of money and property that is to be held for the benefit of others
  • Representation of family members and other beneficiaries in various litigations involving the transfer of wealth pursuant to a will or trust significantly revised just prior to the death of the testator
  • Litigation regarding the interpretation and validity of wills and trust instruments involving assets worth millions of dollars
  • Litigation regarding the disposition of shares of a corporation of a closely held company owned by decedent
  • Litigation asserting the breach of a buy sell agreement and a company’s failure to purchase a decedent’s shares of a corporation upon his death