Estate planning is the process of protecting, preserving and distributing your assets both during your lifetime and after your death. This process provides an opportunity for you to make your wishes known and take comfort in the ability to control your decisions and independence. Through the use of wills, trusts, sophisticated estate freezing and discounting strategies, we can help you achieve your objectives. This may include minimizing estate taxes or reducing expenses associated with estate administration. It may also include making sure that your family has sufficient assets to meet their needs after you are gone.

Failing to plan means that your assets will pass according to the laws of intestacy rather than according to your desires and may also delay or decrease the amounts received by your family. Problems often arise when your investment, legal, insurance and tax plans are not well coordinated. We work with your financial advisor, your insurance agent and your accountant to make sure that you are able to maximize the benefits of your comprehensive financial plan. It is critical for the success of your estate plan that your assets are correctly owned and that your beneficiary designations be correctly completed.

We can assist you with business succession planning. This is a unique area where thorough discussions will lead to a planning process that will allow you to pass on your legacy to future generations in a tax efficient manner.

Many clients want to transfer assets to charitable organizations either during their lives or through their estates. We can provide recommendations as to how these transfers should be structured in order to capture the maximum benefit from an income tax and estate tax perspective.