Everyone needs an Estate Plan.

An Estate Plan is not just for the rich and is especially important for families.

Laws have changed dramatically and unless the proper documents are in place before they are needed, your spouse, your partner, parent or friend cannot make the urgent medical or legal decisions you maya need. A comprehensive estate plan will save you time and money while carrying out your wishes.

An Estate Plan will address such issues as:

Who would make medical decisions for you if you couldn't speak for yourself?
Whom would you want to manage your finances and property if you were unable to do so?
Who shares the property and wealth? (however modest) when you die?
Who would be your child's guardian if you were to become incapacitated or die?
Should you make charitable gifts and how would that affect your estate?


Durable Power of Attorney
Health Care Proxy
Living Will

These documents afford the client maximum legal control over all legal, business, and medical issues. They are properly called personal autonomy documents, providing enormous peace of mind at a modest fee.

A Will controls the disposition of assets after a person's death. Everyone needs a Will which reflects his or her assets, personal circumstances and wishes. A Will should insure the smooth disposition of property and reduce probate and estate tax costs. In appropriate cases Trusts are used along with Wills.

A Trust is a legal relationship by which one person (the Trustee) holds property for the benefit of another (the Beneficiary). There are many varieties of Trusts to meet an unlimited number of circumstances. Some of the many benefits achieved by Trusts are suggested by their names.

We frequently prepare:

Living Revocable Trusts
Tax Planning Trusts
Asset Management Trusts
Educational Trusts
Special Needs Trusts
Minor's Trusts
Family Trusts

We thoroughly analyze our client's needs before we recommend a trust or any other legal tool necessary to carry out our client's wishes.

The costs of nursing homes, and other long term care can quickly drain an estate's assets. Careful planning can reduce the impact of such costs. We work with a select network of consultants, health care providers, social workers and nursing home administrators to provide comprehensive representation in this area.

Federal and state estate taxes, final income taxes, fiduciary income taxes, probate filings and a possible real estate tax lien are all triggered by death. These burdens can be reduced with proper advance planning and with well-informed post-mortem decisions. We prepare probate filings and tax returns for our clients and represent the estate throughout the entire process until assets are distributed and the estate closed.

Joint ownership often causes more problems than it avoids. Whether to own property jointly, as a tenant by the entirety or through a nominee trust or a grantor trust is of continual concern. in order to recommend the most cost-effective solution to our clients, we assess current laws, tax implications, marital status an our clients' needs and wishes.

Guardianships and conservatorships allow one person to act for another in case of incapacity. Health care law, individual rights and fiduciary duties are reviewed in order to advise our clients about these complex issues while reducing the strain of litigation. Our clients include nursing homes, health care facilities, guardians, conservators and disabled persons.

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