Estate Planning & Administration

Our Best Lawyers-ranked Estate Planning & Administration Group provides estate, gift, and income tax advice, as well as a full range of estate and trust administration services. 

OUR CLIENTS

We counsel individuals, business owners, and corporate executives on all aspects of tax and estate planning. We also advise charitable organizations and fiduciaries of estates and trusts. Many of our entertainment, advertising and corporate clients take advantage of our estate planning services, and we have developed particular expertise in formulating estate plans for authors, performers, artists, celebrities, media executives and entrepreneurs.

CLIENT BENEFITS

Led by Chair Linda Wank, the group advises clients on how to structure estate plans to achieve their personal goals and facilitates the implementation of these plans.

Estate Plans

We formulate estate plans, including the preparation of wills and trusts, and help clients coordinate their tax and personal planning objectives.

Children and Grandchildren

We counsel clients on tax-advantaged vehicles that can benefit children and grandchildren, including trusts, custodian accounts, and college savings plans.

Gifting

We design tax-advantaged gifting strategies, such as grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and family limited partnerships.

Life Insurance

We advise on life insurance planning, including the creation, funding and proper administration of irrevocable life insurance trusts.

Retirement Planning

We assist clients in structuring tax-efficient plans for distributing retirement assets, including IRAs, pensions and profit-sharing plans, deferred compensation, executive compensation, and other benefits.

Succession Planning

We guide business owners in planning for orderly and tax-advantaged succession planning.

Buy-Sell Agreements

We negotiate and structure buy-sell agreements among business partners using life insurance and other innovative financing.

Charitable Giving

We create vehicles for charitable giving, including charitable trusts and private foundations, and counsel clients in complying with state and federal tax, registration and other regulations.

Estate and Trust Administration

We manage all phases of estate and trust administration, including probate, asset collection and distribution, preparation of estate tax returns, and settlement of accounts.

Dispute Resolution

We help beneficiaries and fiduciaries resolve estate controversies, including will and trust disputes; and we handle estate litigations and probate contests.

Tax Audits and Controversies

We represent our clients in tax audits, and in preparing tax positions, protests, and appeals.

Special Entertainment Industry Client Benefits

In addition to the services outlined above, our media and entertainment industry clients derive special benefits from our expertise in copyrights, trademarks, publicity rights, and other intellectual property assets:

Intellectual Property Control

We assist in the formation of business entities that centralize control of entertainment-based intellectual property rights and yield tax benefits to heirs.

Copyright Recapture

We help artists and other creators of intellectual property terminate grants of copyright and recapture those rights for further exploitation.

Fiduciaries

We advise clients on the selection of fiduciaries capable of capitalizing on intellectual property assets.