Estate Planning and Administration Department

We provide personal care and attention to each client, whether he or she has a large multi-national estate or a small, local estate. Typical considerations for estate planning are:

• structuring assets to minimize estate taxes
• marital deductions
• generation skipping
• use of irrevocable insurance trusts to minimize estate taxes and provide estate liquidity
• charitable and other gifts, including creation of private foundations, unitrusts and annuity trusts
• estate and gift taxation and income taxation of estates, trusts and beneficiaries
• use of disclaimers

We provide our clients with the necessary advice and services to implement the estate plan, including:

• appointment of an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, temporary executor or special administrator to administer the assets of the estate
• service as an executor or trustee
• analysis of state and federal statutes for application to property rights, disclaimer and renunciation, gifts to minors, and insurance benefits
• preparation of estate tax returns, fiduciary income tax returns, gift tax returns and personal income tax returns
• advice to executors, administrators, guardians, conservators, custodians, beneficiaries and will contestants
• representation of trustees in all aspects of trust administration
• preparation of accounts for probate proceedings

The Estate Planning and Administration Department Co-Chairs are Kathleen L. Bernardo and William E. Hart.