PA - Estate Planning/Probate

Estate Planning and Probate

The estate planning and probate department provides legal services in all aspects of estate planning, including:

income tax counseling;
retirement planning;
estate and gift tax analysis and planning;
specialized assistance for professionals and professional corporations;
estate and gift dispositive planning, including the use of innovative trust structures;
techniques for the protection of handicapped, elderly, and disabled;
disposition of unique assets;
structuring property ownership to avoid probate;
educational funding/planning;
insurance planning;
lifetime and testamentary charitable giving;
techniques for owners of closely held businesses, including estate freezing, control, succession planning and tax and income considerations;
development of compensation and fringe benefit packages; private annuities; and related transactions such as living wills, durable powers of attorney, ante-nuptial agreements and change of domicile analysis.

The estate planning and probate department also regularly represents clients in all aspects of estate settlement and probate law:

the administration of decedents estates;
ancillary administration;
preparation of estate and gift tax returns and conducting estate and gift tax audits;
trust administration and preparation of fiduciary income tax returns;
use of post-mortem planning techniques;
other probate-related proceedings including will contests, trust construction, guardianships, and adoptions.

This department handles not only routine estates, but has also settled some of the largest and most complex estates in Ohio and in the United States.

Clients include individuals, corporate executives, CEOs of national and international corporations, owners of closely held businesses, professionals and professional corporations, and national bank trust departments. The department also represents a number of trusts, including some of the largest personal trusts and charitable foundations in Ohio.

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