Your estate plan is one of the most important things you will ever put in place for your family. It determines what happens to everything you have worked to build — your home, your investments, your business, your legacy — when you are no longer here to manage it yourself. Done well, an estate plan does more than distribute assets. It minimizes taxes, protects beneficiaries, avoids the cost and delay of probate, and ensures that the people and causes you care about are provided for on your terms.

Our estate and tax planning attorneys work with individuals, families, and business owners across the full spectrum of complexity — from foundational documents for families just getting started to sophisticated, multimillion-dollar tax planning strategies for high-net-worth clients facing the federal estate tax. We take the time to understand your situation, explain your options clearly, and build a plan that holds up over time.

Foundational Estate Planning

Every sound estate plan begins with the right legal documents in place. Whether you are creating your first plan or revisiting one that has not been reviewed in years, we help you build a complete, coordinated foundation:

•       Last will and testament

•       Revocable living trust

•       Pour-over will to work alongside your trust

•       Financial durable power of attorney

•       Healthcare power of attorney and healthcare directive

•       HIPAA authorizations

•       Beneficiary designation review and coordination

We make sure your documents work together as a complete system — not as a collection of isolated forms — and that they reflect your current wishes, family circumstances, and asset picture.

Advanced Tax Planning Strategies

For clients whose estates may be subject to federal estate tax — or who want to maximize the wealth transferred to the next generation — we design and implement sophisticated strategies tailored to their specific assets and goals. With the federal estate tax exemption scheduled to decrease significantly after 2025, the window for planning at current exemption levels is open now.

•       Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs)

•       Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)

•       Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)

•       Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs)

•       Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Lead Trusts

•       Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)

•       Dynasty trusts for multigenerational wealth transfer

•       Family Limited Partnerships and Family LLCs

•       Annual gifting programs and lifetime exemption utilization

Business Succession Planning

For business owners, the estate plan and the business succession plan must work together. We help owners structure the transition of closely held businesses to family members, key employees, or third-party buyers in a way that minimizes estate and income tax, maintains business continuity, and reflects the owner's legacy goals.

•       Buy-sell agreement drafting and review

•       Life insurance-funded succession structures

•       Valuation discount planning for closely held interests

•       GRAT and installment sale strategies for business interests

•       Coordination with business entity structure and governance documents