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 Making
long term plans for your future involves complicated decision-making.
No matter your age or financial position, it is important
to begin the process early and get professional advice.
We have in our firm a team of attorneys who are well-versed
on the planning tools, the law, and other resources you
need to establish an appropriate and secure plan for the
long term. Our estate planning attorneys provide assistance
in the following areas:
Our
estate planning services are designed for the orderly
transfer of wealth, taking into consideration each client's
individual goals and circumstances. We stay current on
changing tax laws and techniques to best accomplish a client's
objectives.
To take advantage of estate tax credits
and tax credit transfers that skip a generation, KDDK
estate planning
attorneys provide wills with disability trusts, trusts
for minors, and revocable and irrevocable trusts.
Because people's life spans have grown
longer, it is a necessity to plan for the possibility
of becoming
incapacitated so that if this should happen, family or
caregivers are not forced into lengthy court proceedings
which can result in the court's decision to supervise
the management of your personal affairs.
To prepare for the possibility of
becoming incapacitated, we generally recommend a durable
power of attorney for
the management of financial affairs, the designation
of a health care proxy to make medical decisions, and
Living
Wills or Life Prolonging Procedures Declarations to properly
document one's wishes with regard to life support
issues.
The KDDK estate planning group advises
small business owners regarding the transfer of their
business to the
next generation
utilizing corporate restructuring, buy-sell arrangements
and other planning techniques that ensure a smooth transition
and minimal tax impact.
Our attorneys can assist in structuring
lifetime and testamentary charitable gifts to accomplish
your
charitable
intentions.
Often these gifts can be set up to provide income tax
benefits and maximize deductions. Gifts can be structured
as charitable
lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts, foundations,
conservation easements and outright gifts of securities
and other property.
We also advise clients concerning
gift programs for preserving family wealth, including
family limited partnerships,
limited liability companies and creating voting and non-voting
classes of stock. KDDK estate planning attorneys welcome
the involvement of our clients' accountants, financial
planners and trust officers in this process.
The estate planning group represents
the executor of an estate or trustee of a trust in collecting
and valuing
the decedent's assets, paying debts and claims and
preparing and filing all state and federal death tax
returns. We also represent the executor or trustee on
the audit
of these returns, filing the necessary inventories and
accountings with the probate court and distributing assets
to beneficiaries or to trusts. If a probate proceeding
is protested, our attorneys provide representation in
the contested probate proceeding and in the administration
of out-of-state assets.
In cases
where a client's family members have not
prepared an estate plan and later become incapacitated,
we counsel the family through the appointment of a guardian
and
in the administration and reporting of the guardian's
affairs to the court.
If we can
assist you with any of these services, please contact
one of the attorneys in our estate planning group
listed below.
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