Estates and Trusts

Estate Planning

Carlton Fields offers skillful tax advice that is specifically tailored to each client’s family and business needs to ensure the transfer of assets to the intended beneficiaries. Our collaboration usually encompasses the creation of various types of trusts including:

• Insurance trusts
• Grantor and charitable annuity trusts
• Qualified personal residence trusts
• Credit shelter or marital trust
• Dynasty (generation skipping) trusts

Estate Planning services include:

• Analyzing potential estate, gift, generation-skipping, and income taxes
• Determining liquidity needs for providing for the family and paying taxes
• Analyzing whether to restructure the ownership of various assets to save taxes, provide for the optimal allocation of business interests around family members, reduce potential probate administration expenses, or reduce exposure to future liability
• Analyzing the feasibility and tax consequences of a gift program
• Reviewing pension plans, profit sharing plans, IRAs, or other retirement plans or deferred benefits
• Coordinating an estate plan with the beneficiary designations of life insurance, retirement plans, or deferred benefits
• Determining the most suitable type of entity for ownership of the client’s business during the client’s lifetime
• Developing a plan to continue the business or sell it after the client’s death by means such as corporate redemptions, cross purchase agreements, ESOP‘s or corporate or partnership reorganizations
• Planning for any special family needs (such as providing care for a disabled child, meeting the needs of a second marriage or a pending divorce, or passing the family business to some but not all of the children)
• Analyzing charitable gift programs
• Helping the client determine who should act as the personal representative, trustee, or guardian and implementing various aspects of the estate plan
• Developing with the client the estate plan to best fulfill the client’s objectives
• Preparing wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills, irrevocable trusts, health care directives, and other documents needed to implement the plan

Estate and Trust Administration

Our representation in connection with the administration of estates and ancillary estates includes:

• Representing the interests of the estate or beneficiary in contests or disputes
• Advising family members, beneficiaries, and fiduciaries regarding their rights and obligations
• Ensuring the property of the estate or trust is preserved
• Helping to marshal, preserve, and value all assets

We administer both testamentary trusts and trusts under specific trust agreements. Our attorneys may also, when requested, prepare the tax returns for the trusts and any probate accounts which may be necessary.

Estate and Trust Administration services include:

• Preparing all probate court filings and handling all probate court proceedings for testate or intestate estates
• Post mortem tax and other planning
• Preparing and settling fiduciary accounts
• Analyzing steps to reduce taxes or accomplish other objectives (such as with disclaimers) and otherwise coordinating the tax and business planning for the estate with the family’s tax and business planning
• Preparing federal estate tax returns (or working closely with the accountant, corporate fiduciary or other preparer)
• Analyzing issues concerning valuation of assets
• Handling the estate tax audit by the IRS, if any, and negotiating any proposed tax deficiency
• If necessary, filing a Tax Court petition or conducting further litigation if agreement cannot be reached with IRS
• Preparing the final income tax return of the decedent and any income tax returns for the estate (or working with other tax preparers described above)
• Handling any audits of the returns
• Dealing with all aspects of any business which may be an asset of the estate including negotiation buy-sell agreements and handling real estate, corporate, tax and other related issues
• Arranging to distribute assets or establish trusts in accordance with the estate plan

Trust, Estate, and Guardianship Litigation

Carlton Fields has a strong and sophisticated trust, estate, and guardianship litigation practice. Our team frequently handles large, complex cases. However, we also handle smaller matters with cost efficiency.

We provide representation in contested estate or trust matters such as:

• Contests of wills and trusts
• Disputes over construction of wills or trust agreements
• Modification or reformation proceedings
• Creditors matters
• Disputes arising out of the administration of an estate or a trust which may include Elective share proceedings, estate and trust accountings
• Homestead proceedings
• Compensation disputes
• Fiduciary removal
• Surcharge claims

Because trust, estate, and guardianship matters can encompass a very broad range of topics and areas, Carlton Field’s multi-disciplinary team includes attorneys who specialize in bankruptcy, real estate, corporate, tax, employment and other areas of law. We provide complete representation for even the most unusual or complex set of circumstances.

Trust, Estate and Guardianship Litigation services include:

• Pre-litigation fact review, including accountings, advice, and strategic plan
• Pleadings preparation
• Pre-trial document discovery and depositions
• Ongoing strategic and tactical planning
• Mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods
• Motion preparation and argument
• Trials or hearings
• Appeals
• Trust and Estate Administration

Our team offers individuals and corporate fiduciaries legal and tax advice on both the death of an individual and in the course of an estate or trust administration, including services relating to
state probate proceedings and federal estate taxation. We provide advice to fiduciary clients with the goal of avoiding problems and assisting them with completion of their responsibilities in the most tax efficient and economical manner while fulfilling the terms of the governing document.

We provide services from the very beginning until the completion of the administration.

Charitable Giving

We represent donors and donees with respect to charitable giving. For clients with charitable intentions, we analyze the tax and non tax aspects of various alternatives to determine the best charitable giving plan. We prepare all documents to effectuate the gift, whether it is an outright charitable bequest or a more complicated gift such as a charitable remainder annuity trust, a charitable lead trust, or a private foundation.

Charities and other public and private tax exempt organizations turn to us for all of their needs, including:

• Preparation and filing of organizational documents
• Securing exemption determinations from the IRS
• Filing appropriate state registrations and license applications
• Preparing tax returns and reports
• Counseling on requirements to maintain exempt status
• Representing the organization as a beneficiary of an estate or trust
• Representing the interests of the organization a continuing basis