In addition to trust, will and estate planning, I represent individuals, and families regarding guardianship and conservatorship, probate, personal injury, family law, corporate matters, real estate, landlord and tenant, business formation, buying and selling of businesses, general business law and litigation, and wrongful death law.

Most estate plans include a pour-over will, one or more living or irrevocable trusts, advance health care directives, and durable powers of attorney because usually no single document can provide a complete solution. A will or a trust generally provides for the disposition of property after death. If you die without a will or trust, your estate will pass to your heirs according to the laws of intestacy, a statutory scheme which may or may not reflect your wishes or the needs of your family. Probate is a court-supervised process of transferring property to heirs or beneficiaries and is usually required for estates in excess of $100,000 in value. However, unlike a will, a trust avoids probate, is confidential and can minimize taxes and expenses which is the reason most people create revocable trusts. The more there is a risk of probate or estate taxes for your estate, the more likely you need a trust but sometimes probate can be avoided without a trust.

I prepared a revocable living trust for a married couple, who both have children from previous marriages as well as from their current marriage. Each was able, in the event that he or she is the first to die, to divide the assets among the various children in a manner different from that selected by the other and still takes full advantage of the federal estate tax marital deduction and the unified credit against federal estate and gift taxes to reduce death taxes.