Our Expertise
Estate Planning & Administration
Good estate plans are certainly about planning, but they are even more about people and their aspirations. While the basic tools of estate planning may be learned in few years of practice, the elements of a good estate plan are built not just with legal tools but with a feeling for people, families and interpersonal relationships. A good estate plan is also enhanced by wisdom achieved working with those who have come to understand the possibilities and responsibilities that wealth and success can bring.
SCMV Estate Planning and Administration attorneys work primarily with high-net-worth individuals and families, including those with closely held businesses, creating ways to manage their assets to benefit charities; to protect the interests of family members and heirs; to address gift and estate tax issues; and to translate their aspirations into a legally sound and sustainable plan. Among the services we provide are:
- estate, tax and multi-generation succession planning
- charitable giving and family gift planning, including private foundation formation and administration
- retirement and deferred compensation planning
- health care and disability planning
- trust and estate litigation, elder abuse claims and mediation of contested matters
- fiduciary accounting and taxation (including audits)
- trust and estate administration
- probate matters
- all forms of revocable and irrevocable trusts, including:
- generation skipping trusts
- life Insurance trusts
- qualified domestic trusts (QDOTs)
- charitable remaining and lead trusts
- minor education trusts
- qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs)
- special needs trusts
- private annuities
- estate/gift taxation, including:
- return preparation and audits
The complexities of taxation and business planning go hand-in-hand with estate planning, and we work as needed with those specialists within the firm to enhance our mission. That benefits clients through reduced estate tax exposure and the orderly administration of our clients’ trusts and probate documents.
The SCMV Estate Planning and Administration Practice:
Wisdom . . . beyond the letter of the law.