Wills, Trusts and Estates

If you are involved in the administration of the estate of someone who has died, BotkinRose can guide you through the often misunderstood probate process. If you have lost a loved one and you need assistance with settling the estate, whether the loved one had a will or not, our attorneys can assist you with estate administration. If you have been appointed as an executor under a will, we can assist you with the probate process, which may include probating the will, qualifying as executor, filing an inventory and accountings with the Commissioner of Accounts, settling debts of the estate, distributing assets, etc. If you have been named as a trustee under a trust, we can assist you with administering the trust, which may include avoiding court supervision, filing trust tax returns, exercising powers of appointment, and distributing trust assets to beneficiaries.

To prepare you and your family for your potential incapacity and/or death, estate planning is critical. The type of planning you need depends on your goals and concerns, your assets and how they are owned, and your family structure. This planning usually involves a power of attorney, advance medical directive, and a will. It may or may not involve a revocable living trust, an irrevocable insurance trust, or other tax planning documents. Well prepared documents mean that your loved ones can better care for you if you need assistance and also allows you to plan for the future care of your loved ones after your death. BotkinRose attorneys can make sure that your assets pass to the next generation in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.

BotkinRose attorneys can help you protect your assets from significant estate, income, capital gains, and gift taxes. Tax planning is important for a variety of situations ranging from helping you to pass the family farm on to the next generation through conservation easements and revocable trusts (which allow you to save on estate taxes) to simply protecting your assets from estate, gift, and generation-skipping taxes so that your loved ones receive more of the wealth you worked to secure. Tax planning can create significant savings given the top federal estate tax rate.