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Estate Planning
Introduction
Durrell Law Group's attorneys are able to offer comprehensive estate planning services
that strive to assist our clients in building, protecting and distributing their wealth -
their way. Select the following link to view our letter to Prospective Estate Planning
Clients regarding our estate planning services:
Estate Planning Organizer
We have developed an Estate Planning Organizer to assist our clients in organizing
their personal and financial information prior to meeting with us. Gathering and organizing
essential information is the first step in developing a thoughtful and comprehensive plan.
Our organizer also asks a few questions that will get you thinking about the decisions you
must make during the development of your estate plan.
Download and print our Estate Planning Organizer (in Adobe Acrobat .PDF file format).
Select the link that applies to your situation:
Estate Planning Contact Information Update Form
If you are an existing client, we may have assumed responsibility for your original Estate
Planning documents by storing them in our Fire King vaults. We provide the service
as a courtesy to our Estate Planning Clients. If your original Estate Planning
documents are stored in our vault, we ask that you keep us informed of any changes
to your contact information or of any other change
that would affect our handling of your documents. The link below provides a convenient means for you
to inform our office of changes to your contact information and to provide direction
to us on the handling
of your original Estate Planning documents.
Estate Planning Learning Center
We appreciate the importance that our clients and friends place on understanding
the issues surrounding estate planning and the techniques that we frequently employ
to address the issues. We therefore are pleased to offer an estate planning learning
center that provides a wealth of on-line estate planning information as well as the
means to request additional information from us.
On this site, you will find an easy-to-use calculator that enables you to estimate
the amount of estate taxes your estate must pay before distributions may be made
to your family or other loved ones.
Click here to enter the Durrell Law Group's Estate Planning:
Description of Services
Our comprehensive estate planning services include, but are
not limited, to the following:
Estate Planning
- Analyze and structure comprehensive estate plans that preserve and
transfer a client’s wealth during the client’s lifetime and at death by
minimizing the effect of the various transfer taxes (estate, gift and
generation-skipping transfer taxes) applicable to individuals, families
and businesses;
- Prepare estate planning documents such as wills and trusts;
- Utilize a number of sophisticated estate planning techniques including
life insurance trusts, gifts (both charitable and non-charitable), the
formation of private foundations and donor advised funds, grantor retained
annuity trusts, installment sales of assets and qualified personal residence
trusts;
- Project estate and gift tax liability, recommend and implement strategies
to minimize estate and gift taxes;
- Recommend and implement strategies to protect family wealth from creditor
claims;
- Structure and implement annual gifting programs to transition wealth
free of estate tax;
- Plan for the management of a client’s wealth and personal care in the
event of disability through the use of revocable trusts, financial and medical
powers of attorney, and medical directives (also known as living wills); and
- Negotiate and document prenuptial agreements, marital property agreements
and divorce tax planning.
Estate Administration and Probate Process
- Assist fiduciaries through the entire process of settling a deceased
person’s estate;
- Represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in probate actions;
- Prepare disclaimers and work with fiduciaries on valuation issues;
- Prepare and file gift tax returns (form 709) and estate tax returns
(form 706);
- Represent fiduciaries before the Internal Revenue
Service, from the commencement of the audit through the
final stage at the IRS Appeals Division, regarding
various tax matter, including estate and gift tax
audits;
- Handle administrative disputes before the IRS; and
- Alaska http://www.probateattorneyalliance.com/attorneys/AK
lawyers for the Probate http://www.probateattorneyalliance.com/ Attorney Alliance.
Trusts and Trust Administration
- Structure trusts to provide financial security to loved ones and to
minimize taxes;
- Create trusts, including various revocable and irrevocable trusts,
including life insurance trusts, grantor trusts, annual exclusion trusts
commonly known as Crummey trusts and minors trusts, generation-skipping
transfer trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts and charitable
split-interest trusts;
- Advise individual and corporate trustees in the administration of their
trusts and the discharge of their fiduciary powers, responsibilities and
duties under applicable law;
- Advise beneficiaries regarding their rights relating to their trusts;
and
- Analyze and implement charitable planned giving techniques, including
charitable remainder trusts.
Tax and Business Planning
- Develop strategies to pass a family business or closely-held business
to the next generation or to key employees;
- Assist with harmonious transfer of control at the business owner’s death
to the next generation, even if some members of the next generation will not
be involved in the active management of the business;
- Plan techniques focusing on valuation issues resulting in potential
significant tax savings for the business owner and the business owner’s
family;
- Structure and document family limited partnerships and other business
entities to discount asset values for transfer tax purposes; and
- Prepare buy-sell agreements to restrict the transfer of business
interests outside of a family or group of business associates and to
protect a business from the risks of an unanticipated death or disability.
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DURRELL LAW GROUP,
P.C.