We focus our practice on both middle-income families and families with substantial assets.  We are well-versed in using trusts and other tax-planning mechanisms to permit families to maximize the value of their estates for their heirs and later generations.

Proper planning often requires a careful preparation of one or more Trusts. For example, most families with young children will want a trust created for the care of the children in the event that both parents die. It is also very common for an estate plan to leverage the marital deduction by using a credit shelter bypass trust. Other families, especially blended families, wish to direct the ultimate beneficiaries of their assets by using a QTIP trust. In addition, families often use trusts to protect the proceeds of a life insurance policy from taxation. (Many people do not realize that life insurance proceeds are included in calculating the value of an estate for estate tax purposes. Families with young children often have large life insurance policies to protect their families, but those policies cause their estate to be taxed.)  A life insurance trust can avoid that tax. For more information about life insurance trusts, click here. We are fully equipped to create an appropriate revocable or irrevocable trust for your family.

Planning for Pets.  Many of our clients are devoted to their pets.  Estate planning can ensure that pets are well taken care of through the use of pet trusts --- ranging from a simple "statutory" pet trust to a complex trust document.  For more information, click here.

International Estate Planning.  Families who include foreign nationals and leaving money to non-U.S. citizens can pose special challenges.  For more information, click here.

Halachic and other Religious/Moral/Ethical Wills.  Many of our clients want their moral, ethical, or religious views reflected in their estate planning.  We can help you to ensure that your estate plan reflects who you are.  This includes Halachic Wills.

Probate

We also assist and counsel personal representatives (also known as "executors") with probate and trust administration matters, including filing the will, setting up testamentary trusts, preparing accountings, dealing with creditors, preparing inventories and tax returns, valuing assets, and distributing assets. Post-death issues sometimes also include assisting personal representatives and potential heirs in will contests, valuation or accounting disputes, or in actions against trustees and personal representatives for breach of fiduciary duty.

Please click here for information about guardianships.

Guardianships, whether for the elderly or disabled, are often necessary to ensure that someone close to you is properly cared for.  Our firm also represents clients in guardianship and conservator matters, ranging from the appointment of a guardian or conservator to ensuring that the guardian properly fulfils his or her duties.