Whom We Serve
Families with Established Wealth
Many of our clients are managing their own inherited wealth while planning a successful inheritance experience for descendants. We prepare thoughtful estate plans to carry out these families’ non-tax objectives for family (and, often, charity), while maximizing opportunities for estate and income tax savings. We help families anticipate and avoid potentially negative aspects of inherited wealth with trusts personalized for each family.
Business Owners
We often work with owners of growing and established businesses, both before and after liquidity events. Our work thoughtfully reflects the ownership group’s non-tax business succession objectives (including retention of key non-owner employees), while maximizing tax savings opportunities. We help owners anticipate and avoid risk of discord and litigation when the business is sold or inherited, often through close coordination of estate and business plans. Common projects include buy-sell planning, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, operating agreements and partnership agreements.
Older Retirees
Many of our clients are managing their own assets in later retirement. Adult children often work in close partnership with their parents on aging-related matters, and planning for an orderly and non-controversial inheritance process. We help these clients and their involved children implement non-tax family, inheritance and charitable goals, while maximizing estate and income tax savings opportunities and minimizing risk of future disputes during estate administration. In certain situations, we use trusts, limited liability companies and powers of attorney to help protect assets against depletion by unethical caregivers, overreaching relatives, and poor decisions relating to cognitive impairment.
Recently Retired Executives & Professionals
Retirement often prompts clients to update an estate plan (or create one for the first time). We help those in early retirement, or preparing for retirement, with thoughtful tax and non-tax estate planning, including residency planning to minimize income and property taxes. Projects for these clients often include estate planning customized for blended families, or for parents with one or more adult children financially reliant on them.
Younger Executives, Professionals & Entrepreneurs
We work with many clients that are beginning families and building careers or growing businesses. For these clients, our focus is usually thoughtful non-tax estate planning to provide protection for spouses and children, and a structure for the family’s wealth as it continues to grow. When questions arise relating to non-competition agreements, business entity planning and business side ventures, we integrate solutions for those issues with background estate plans.