We emphasize a comprehensive and objective approach in the development of estate and wealth management plans for high net worth individuals, couples and families. We help you to achieve your goals by working with you on a highly personalized basis. Our goal is to educate you on the estate planning process in order for you to make informed decisions regarding the distribution of your wealth.

We work to achieve a balance between both meeting tax objectives and effectuating the desired disposition of your estate assets. To meet your goals we help you evaluate the estate planning options that may best suit your needs, goals and objectives. We then build a highly personalized estate plan around those needs, goals and objectives.

We begin the estate planning process by reviewing the cornerstones of your estate plan. The first cornerstone is the Will or Revocable Living Trust which details your intentions regarding the disposition of your assets. The second cornerstone is a Durable Power of Attorney with Health Care Provisions. This document allows for the administration of your assets and directs the administration of your health care in the event of your disability. The third and final cornerstone is the Physician's Directive. This document allows you to state your intentions regarding end-of-life health care issues and your intentions regarding the prolonging of your life through artificial means.

After the cornerstones of your estate plan have been established, we then address other estate and wealth transfer planning techniques that may best suit your personal desires and circumstances. In this regard, we will consider the role of charitable planning in your estate plan. This may include the establishment of a charitable trust, the formation of a private foundation or the use of charitable gift annuities. We will address the role of gifting assets to younger generations through the use of family limited partnerships, limited liability companies, and trusts. Our planning also takes into consideration retirement plan assets, the role of life insurance and how your assets should be titled. Depending upon individual circumstances, we will address issues regarding long-term care planning, disability, and other eldercare issues for you or another family member. Additionally, we address issues regarding asset protection, the role of business succession in the estate plan, the benefits of certain types of trusts and caring for family members with special needs.

Often the best estate plans leave you in control of income and the enjoyment of assets during your lives while minimizing the ultimate estate tax due on your death. The overall plan should provide a mechanism for management and stewardship of assets in the next generation. We will help you achieve your estate planning goals with an understandable plan which clearly dictates your intentions both during life and after death.

If you would like to receive more information on estate and wealth transfer planning services please contact our firm.

We work with our clients on devising plans to accomplish planned charitable gift-giving goals. Our work includes assisting our clients with the planning, preparation and implementation stages of charitable trusts, private family foundations, public charities and donor-advised accounts as well as structuring outright lifetime charitable gifts. We often work with our clients in designing the legal structure of a private family foundation to allow and encourage "perpetual" family involvement, so that family members from successive generations can be involved in the operation of the family foundation. We believe that such multigenerational charitable endeavors increase a family's overall "wealth" by fostering family commitment centered around a common good, a benefit quite apart from the income tax charitable deduction which may result upon the funding of a foundation. We also assist our clients with tax matters associated with charitable gift-giving including unrelated business income tax, income tax implications of charitable gift giving, private foundation excise taxes, excess benefit penalty taxes, and the preparation of annual tax returns.

If you would like to receive more information on our charitable gift planning services please contact our firm.

We work with our clients and their families to plan for the transition of business ownership to younger generations. It takes years of effort to build a business, and transferring business ownership to a younger generation is an emotional, financial and legally complex transition for all the parties involved. Our approach to business succession planning emphasizes family involvement in the transition process to help ensure a smooth transition of ownership between generations. We assist our clients in making these transitions while insuring a comfortable retirement for the older generation. Through the use of shareholders' agreements, special compensation arrangements, insurance planning and family financial counseling, we can help to preserve family businesses for second and third generations and beyond, while working to minimize the tax liabilities arising from such transfers.

For more information on how we can assist with transition of business ownership please contact our firm.

Planning for life's changes as we grow older has taken on greater importance as our nation's population ages. In order to meet the challenges which arise later in life, a comprehensive and specialized care plan is often needed. We assist our clients and their families in determining what options may be available to pay for long-term care. Our work on behalf of clients engaging in long-term care planning may take several forms: planning conferences to discuss available options, including the purchase of long-term care insurance, the drafting of legal documents to implement a long-term care plan, and assistance with the preparation of documents necessary to qualify an individual for appropriate long-term care programs.

If you would like to receive more information on our eldercare planning services please contact our firm.