At Stein Sperling, we have three primary goals in helping clients with estate planning: protecting assets through life and for future generations; minimizing negative tax consequences through the architecture of a careful plan; and planning for disability and death. Without proper estate planning, state laws can dictate the parties responsible for medical and financial decision-making, as well as to whom property and other assets will pass upon death. When there is no estate plan in place, the state’s desire for efficiency in this process usually overrides the decedent’s wishes and desire for control over the disposition of assets, as well as who is in charge of these lifetime and postmortem decisions.
We guide clients as they plan for potential disability and future death, helping them make decisions that will preserve their assets for loved ones and organizations about which they care deeply. As part of this process, we regularly partner with a client’s financial and investment advisors, accountants, insurance representatives and other professionals to ensure an integrated approach to the estate plan, including asset protection.
A vital aspect of creating customized estate plans is structuring them to suit a client’s specific financial and medical circ*mstances and those of the intended beneficiaries. In doing so, our attorneys are able to anticipate potentially harmful tax implications of each estate planning decision and structure the client’s plan to best avoid those.
Our estates and trusts attorneys are deeply knowledgeable about tax codes and law. We are able to harness this knowledge to maximize a client’s tax savings through basic and more advanced tax planning strategies.
